"We, boys and girls, citizens of Israel, who believe
in the values of democracy, humanism and pluralism, hereby declare that we
will refuse to take part in the policy of occupation and repression for which
the Israeli government has opted. We come from a variety of backgrounds, but
all are agreed that the following values are the basis of a just society.
Every person is entitled to basic rights: the right to life, equality,
dignity and freedom. It is our conscientious and civic duty to act in defence
of these rights by refusing to take part in the policy of occupation and
repression.
The occupation entails forfeiting human dignity and
massive loss of human life. It affects the basic rights of millions of persons
and causes daily killing and suffering. It leads to land confiscation, mass
demolition of homes, arrests and extra-legal executions, ill-treatment and the
murder of innocents, hunger, deprivation of medical care, collective
punishment, construction and expansion of Jewish settlements and prevents any
possibility of a normal life in the occupied territories and in Israel. This
flagrant deprival of human rights runs counter to our entire philosophy, as
well as international conventions which Israel has signed and
confirmed.
The occupation does not contribute to the security
of the state and its citizens, it merely harms them. It exacerbates
despair and hatred among the Palestinian people, sustains terrorism and
expands the cycle of violence. True security will be achieved only by ending
the occupation, dismantling the Apartheid wall and working for a just peace
agreement between the state of the Israel and the leadership of the
Palestinian people and the Arab world overall. The present policy does not
stem from defence needs, rather, from a nationalist and messianic world
view.
The occupation corrupts Israeli
society, rendering it militarist, racist, chauvinist and violent. Israel
is wasting its resources on perpetuating the occupation and repression in the
occupied territories, at a time when hundreds of thousands of Israeli
citizens live in shameful poverty. The state's citizens have experienced a
decline of all public systems in recent years. Education, health care,
infranstructure, pensions, social benefits and everything to do with the
welfare of Israel's citizens - are neglected in favour of supporting
settlements that a majority wants to see dismantled. We cannot stand by in
view of this situation, which constitutes the "focussed liquidation" of
the principle of equality.
We want to see the society in which we live pursuing
justice, upholding equality for every person and citizen. The policy of
occupation and repression is an obstacle to realisation of that vision, and we
shall refuse to take part therein. We wish to contribute to society in
an alternative way, which does not involve harm to human
beings.
We call upon all young people awaiting induction,
and all the soldiers of the Israeli army, to reconsider whether to risk their
lives in taking part in the policy of repression and
destruction.
We believe there is a different
way."
Peretz Kidron
Yesh Gvul