WIG Message Forwarded by Jonathan Pollard
J4JP Release - April 3, 2005
Two years ago, in honor of his birthday August 7, 2003, the people of Gush Katif made Jonathan Pollard an honorary citizen of Gush Katif and an honorary member of the Gaza Coast Regional Council.
Jonathan takes it very personally that 20 years ago he was expelled from the Israeli Embassy in Washington and now he is threatened with expulsion from Gush Katif. He has personally registered his protest with Prime Minister Sharon.
Jonathan instructed J4JP to recirculate the latest release by Women in Green which contains an update and a plan of action. He urges everyone to read Nadia Matar's report and to take its message to heart. A copy follows below:
WIG UPDATE - April 3, 2005
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES-WHAT NOW? Preparing for victory!
Firstly I would like to thank Hashem for hardening the hearts of the MK's and making sure a majority of the Knesset would vote against a Referendum. Yes- you are reading correctly: I am happy that the law calling for a Referendum did not pass. And for 3 reasons:
* IDEOLOGICALLY
As Women in Green has written many times - one does not hold Referendums on whether or not to give away the land of Israel! On some issues, no Referendums are allowed. Let me explain: It would be unheard of if family members would hold a family Referendum as to whether they want to keep this or that person in the family. No parents hold a family Referendum as to whether or not they want to keep their child, even if they think he is a trouble maker. The link between parents and children is a link that cannot be changed. The same way, the link between the Land of Israel and the people of Israel can't be changed. Hashem gave this land to the Jewish people, and no Jew has the right to give it away.
* THE PRACTICAL REASON
Those who still believe that we should have had a Referendum will agree that the only Referendum that would be a possibility in such a situation, would be a Referendum held by Jews only. It is clear to us all that it would be sacrilegious to have Arabs and non-Jews participate in a Referendum on our Biblical homeland! But we know that this would have been unacceptable to the Knesset and thus, had the law passed in favor of a Referendum - Arabs would have been part of it. Once again we thank G-d that that law did not pass.
* And FINALLY
Dictators don't abide by the will of the people; even if a miracle would have occurred and against all odds, we would have won the Referendum, does anybody believe that the dictator Ariel Sharon would have abided by its results?? Absolutely not! The day after such a Referendum, Sharon's bulldozers would have started the uprooting. And we, who would have put all our energy, time and money on the Referendum, would not have been ready to fight the uprooting.
The question that is asked by all is:
WHAT NOW?
Some activists who sincerely believed that they could stop Sharon's plan with parliamentary means, are in a deep depression (see Friday's Jerusalem Post, the interview with Gush Etzyon Mayor Shaul Goldstein who has lost all hope). We on the other hand, who never believed that our political leaders would be the ones who would save us, are not depressed. We have not given up hope that we can win. On the contrary, now we must get organized. AND IF WE ORGANIZE OURSELVES CORRECTLY, THEN, WITH G-D's HELP, WE CAN WIN AND THWART SHARON'S PLAN!
Last night (Thursday, March 31st) - for the first time in many years - a very large gathering of all the extra parliamentary groups was held. Some 50 people from all over the country, religious and non-religious, older and younger settlers and residents from within pre-67 Israel, students, rabbis, etc. gathered and discussed the ways to stop Sharon's plan. Every representative had 3 minutes to talk. We all agreed on the following:
A) It is within our power to prevent implementation of Sharon's plan by non-violent means & civil disobedience.
B) We will act in accordance with the following:
* increase the successful campaign of convincing soldiers and police forces not to participate in the crime of the uprooting. Different groups are already involved in this and we urge people to join with them.
* bringing to Gush Katif and Northern Shomron in the coming weeks, tens of thousands of supporters to on with the understanding that if enough people will be there (and enough soldiers will not participate) - the security forces will not be able to carry out the crime of the uprooting
* the day that the authorities will close down Gush Katif to non-residents will be the day that all hell will break loose in the entire country, without going into specific details about our actions. The general idea is that the entire country will be non-functioning because of roadblocks and other activities - thus keeping the security forces very, very busy far away from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron.
* explaining to everybody that one of the ways to bring down this government will be to fill the jails. The government has built special internment camps for people opposing Sharon's plan. They think that they are scaring us and hope that thus people will not demonstrate nor go out to the streets. On the contrary, our message is clear. It will be a badge of honor for us to go to jail for the Land of Israel! In fact, we will do all we can - with non-violent civil disobedience - to fill those jails. When some five to ten thousand people, men and women, old and young will be in jail - this government will fall and the deportation plan will be stopped. We must tell our friends not to be scared to go to jail. For legal help we have the "Honenu" organization of lawyers volunteering to help all those arrested for fighting Sharon's plan. They have already promised to help all of us who are jailed.
This is a very general overview of the meeting of the extra-parliamentary groups. The bottom line is:
a) Even if the Supreme Court will decide, as they will in the next few weeks, that the Sharon plan is legal and that the order to uproot Jews is legal, we will still consider it immoral and anti-Jewish and therefore will fight it tooth and nail in a non-violent way, knowing that we might end up in jail. The fact that the Supreme Court decides something is legal does not mean it is in accordance with our traditions and religious beliefs. Jews have religiously believed for thousands of years in the G-d of Israel's Promise to them and their descendants. Let's remember that people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King also fought against so-called "legal" laws and decisions.
b) We are - finally - getting organized to thwart Sharon's plan. One thing is for sure: nobody is permitted to stay home. There is a lot to do, starting today. Details of different actions will be publicized in the near future in the national media (Arutz 7 Website and newspapers like Besheva, Makor Rishon, Hatzofe, etc.).
c) But one should not wait for that. Everybody should start with a few friends to do what suits them best. Here are some ideas:
* When walking around town, look for police forces and soldiers, talk to them and urge them not to give a hand to the uprooting. Tell them nicely: not to do that. "Your job is to protect the Jews, not to attack them. Don't turn yourself from a Jewish policeman/soldier into a Kossack, that throws Jews out of their homes." The more emotional pressure on such police or soldiers, the better.
Anybody who wants to receive the flyers we hand out to soldiers and policemen can contact Women in Green by emailing our office, giving us your name, complete address, and the leaflets will be sent to your home by mail expeditiously. < mailto:michaele@netvision.net.il >
Monday morning, April 4th, at 9:30 a.m., Women in Green will hold a vigil at the traffic circle next to the "Achim Yisrael Mall" in Talpiyot, Jerusalem, close to the Police headquarters - (for details call Anita 0505-777254)
* Buy a few placards and write on them "Jews don't uproot Jews"- "Sharon's plan endangers the entire country. Stop the madness" or any other strong message. A few times a week we suggest that you go to the nearest corner with a lot of traffic and hold a small vigil. Talk to the people. Urge the cars to honk.
* Help Gush Katif by helping Minhelet Kayla. This is a project Women in Green has been very involved in for the past few weeks. Minhelet Kayla is run by Gush Katif residents who have started the process of bringing many people to Gush Katif. This involves fixing hundreds of empty homes, gathering funds to buy hundreds of tents, water-tanks, etc., and gathering dry food like pasta, flour, sugar, tin cans, water, etc., in order to be able to feed the many thousands who will be in Gush Katif after Pesach.
I urge you to go to their website and help them as much as you can. Minhelet Kayla is today one of the most "tachles" projects around: <http://www.minheletkayla.org> Find out how can you help Minhelet Kayla.
a - Contact them and let them know you want to help. Your name will be put on a master list of volunteers.
b - Help them financially, they desperately need funds. So much money was spent (wasted?) into all the Hasbara campaigns and the campaigns for the Referendum, that there is hardly any money for the fixing of the homes and all other urgent and needed activities involved in bringing tens of thousands of people to Gush Katif.
c - Volunteer to gather dry goods in your neighborhood, in your supermarket, etc., and Minhelet Kayla will arrange to bring what you have gathered to Gush Katif. In one word: there is a lot to do - with G-d's help we will win!! Please pass this message onto other lists, and to your friends and neighbors.
- Nadia Matar
Please check our website <http://www.womeningreen.org/> for further announcements in this campaign.
Arrange to attend the important Rally in Crawford, Texas, at 2:30 P.M. on April 11, during the meeting of PM Sharon at President Bush's Ranch. It is vital that there be a very large turnout.
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Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380
mailto:michael@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org