- REHOVOT, Israel -- The three
men sitting in the corner of a busy cafe are unremarkable as they talk
among themselves, sipping coffee and blending with the rest of the customers.
-
- But they are members of a remarkable group, the Sayeret
Matkal, Israel's equivalent of the SAS. And what makes them even more extraordinary
in a society that holds its armed forces in such high esteem - in fact,
what has earned them damnation from all over the country - is that they
told their commanders that they refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories.
-
- They and 10 others wrote to the Israeli Prime Minister,
Ariel Sharon, saying they could no longer serve, 'out of a deep sense of
foreboding for the future of Israel as a democratic, Zionist and Jewish
state'. The letter stated that they would not take part in violating the
rights of millions of Palestinians or provide a shield for Jewish settlements
in the occupied territories. It concluded: 'We have long ago crossed the
boundary of fighting for a just cause, and now we find ourselves fighting
to oppress another people. We shall no longer cross this line.'
-
- Since then they have been villified and supported in
the Israeli media and have received death threats.
-
- In their first interview with the foreign media, they
told the Observer that they felt compelled to act after witnessing Israeli
soldiers behaving in a way that was unimaginable a few years ago. Zohar,
35, an actor when not doing duty in the elite commando unit, said: 'I could
not believe three years ago that we could live in the situation that we
live in today. I have seen an acceleration downwards in the standards of
Israeli society. Things I thought no Israeli soldier could ever do, I have
found myself and others doing.'
-
- Avner, aged 27, a student, said he was concerned that
the violence that the conscript soldiers had experienced could have a direct
impact on life in Israel. 'Already violence is the default in our society.
You can see it in the way people drive, the way children treat each other,'
he said.
-
- All three fought during Operation Defensive Shield which
led to the heaviest fighting of the intifada. The operation was triggered
by a Palestinian suicide attack on a hotel in Netanya, in March 2002, which
killed 29 Israelis.
-
- Israeli regular forces and elite units invaded all the
major Palestinian towns. According to a report by Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, 27 Israeli soldiers were killed in in Nablus and
Jenin, and at least 122 Palestinians, of whom more than half were civilians.
-
- Moshe, 33, a father of three who has just qualified as
a doctor, said the events of Defensive Shield were an important factor
in his refusal to serve. 'It became clear that I had to do something, that
I couldn't wait for others,' he said.
-
- For Moshe, Zohar and Avner, joining the Sayeret Matkal
was a major ambition, a way of giving maximum service to their country.
After completing their national service, each must serve up to a month
in the unit every year.
-
- The commandos were attacked by all sides of the political
spectrum for their letter. Avshalom Vilan, an MP for the left-wing Meretz
party and a former commando, said: 'Refusal to serve breaks the only common
ground that exists between the left and the right, which is very dangerous.'
-
- But the commandos feel that they cannot stand by and
watch the disintegration of their country. 'We believe that what we are
doing now is very Zionist,' said Zohar. 'If a plane is going to crash you
can jump out or you can try and prevent it from crashing. That is how we
feel about Israel. The reason we were able to withstand the attacks we
endured in the Yom Kippur war in 1973 was because we knew we were fighting
for a just cause. Many people know that now we have lost the just cause.'
-
- In the coming year, all three will be summoned for duty
and if asked to serve in the West Bank or Gaza, they will refuse. Then
they will be tried in a military court, jailed and maybe thrown out of
the army. 'Being expelled from the army would be a hard price to pay,'
said Moshe.
-
- 'But,' said Zohar, 'it's much more difficult seeing your
country slide down the drain.'
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1148493,00.html
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