Warning against war crimes is an act of patriotism
(1) – Gush Shalom’s purpose is to warn officers and soldiers alike that certain actionscould lead, at some future dare, to their indictment before an Israeli – and even aninternational – court of law.
(2) – This is clearly a patriotic act intended to defend the honor and protect the reputationof Israel.
(3) – The Fourth Geneva Convention requires its signatories, among them Israel, to bringviolators to trial in a court of law or to extradite them to other countries for thispurpose.
(4) – Gush Shalom has succeeded in generating a public discussion on war crimes in Israel andwarning officers and soldiers in time of the possible consequence of certain actions,according to the biblical command: “Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor”.
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- The claim that this was done in secrecy is completely false.
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(6) – In January of this year Gush Shalom organized a large convention in Tel Aviv to promptpublic debate on this topic. Although professors and senior (retired) army officersattended and addressed the convention, it was ignored by all the important media.
(7) – The main purpose of our campaign is not to prosecute, but rather to prevent illegalactions from occurring, by warning those who might commit them that the laws on war crimesare not subject to the statute of limitations and perpetrators can be brought to trialanywhere, anytime.
(8) – Gush Shalom cautions soldiers that if they commit war crimes they might not be able totravel outside the borders of the country for fear of being indicted and arrested.
(9) – In its attempt to raise the awareness of officers and soldiers of the IDF, Gush Shalomproduced a pocket guide for the soldiers, which details the actions that constitute warcrimes. The guide includes a warning against participating in war crimes.
(10) Moreover, Gush Shalom produced a radio broadcast on the subject. The BroadcastingAuthority refused to release it even as a paid ad. The High Court of Justice refused tocompel the Israel Broadcasting Authority to do so.
(11) – The unrestrained attack on Gush Shalom, initiated by Prime Minister Sharon,unwittingly contributed towards an enhanced awareness of the problem of war crimes byall ranks of the IDF.
(12) – The defamation of Gush Shalom and the incitement against it, which portrayed GushShalom activists as informers, Kapo (Jewish camp police in Nazi concentration camps),Judenrat (Jewish ghetto committees appointed by the Nazis), etc. was intended to drawattention away from the failure of Sharon and Ben Eliezer to bring security to the countryand its citizens, by creating a new legend of “stabbing the army in the back”. This legendis reminiscent of dark days and sinister regimes.
(13) – The political and military leadership of Israel implicitly admits that it isimpossible to be an occupier of another nation without committing war crimes andviolating international laws.
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- The inescapable conclusion is that the occupation must end.
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(15) – The claim that the state-of-war and the need to defend the citizens of Israelnecessitate committing war crimes is inadmissible and false. The very concept of “warcrimes” means that such crimes are specifically prohibited in times of war, when eachside believes that it is defending the lives of its citizens.
(16) – Gush Shalom calls upon soldiers to refuse to obey orders that are manifestly illegal.This is also demanded by Israeli law.
(17) – Under Israeli law, a “manifestly illegal order” is one over which the “black flag ofillegality” waves – An order that every normal person clearly recognizes as illegal.
(18) – Execution without trial (called “liquidation”), the killing of defenselesswounded (called “verification of death”), preventing medical help from reaching theinjured, shooting at ambulances and medical teams, allowing populations to starve,dropping bombs on residential areas, wholesale destruction of houses, penalizingfamilies for the deeds of one of their members by expulsion and home demolition – these areall examples of illegal orders.
(19) – Sadly, there is no truth to the assertion that the IDF authorities themselves areinvestigating war crimes and violations of Israeli and international laws andpunishing the offenders. During the present conflict, the media have reported onhundreds of actions carried out in contravention of Israeli and international laws – butvery rarely was anyone brought to trial, and no one has been fittingly punished.
(20) – In addition to the dangers that lie ahead for officers and soldiers who commit illegalactions and violate human rights, these actions also damage peace and security, sincethey increase hatred and provoke cruel retaliations. Such was the killing of SalahSchada, which resulted in a wave of horrible acts of vengeance.
(21) – Over the past few months, Gush Shalom has sent letters to several senior officers whowere mentioned in the media in connection with manifestly illegal actions. They weretold that Gush Shalom is gathering information about such actions.
(22) – This was done publicly, with copies of the letters sent to all the media (which chosenot to publish them) and to the Chief Army Advocate (who has taken no action regardingthese officers).
(23) – The primary purpose of the letters was to make clear to the commanders the severity ofsuch actions, in terms of Israeli and international laws, and to persuade them to desistfrom these actions.
(24) – The officers were told that if they commit war crimes and violate Israeli andinternational laws, we shall present the information to the Israeli legal authorities,when and if these authorities take their responsibilities seriously and enforce the lawto prevent such actions.
(25) – Amir Oren, a military commentator, reported this week that the General Staff has madepreparations for a “third operation”, more extensive than the previous two, which willlead to “the injury of thousands of Palestinians”. This report raises the suspicion thatthe operation will involve serious war crimes that could lead to the indictment of theplanners and executors before the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
(26) – There has been no Gush Shalom decision to submit material to the international court,and the Gush maintains no contact with this institution. However, if the Israeli courtsdo not enforce the law, we might consider this option as a last resort.
(27) – Gush Shalom supports the International Criminal Court established recently in TheHague and regards it a realization of Jewish and world-wide aspirations. The Governmentof Israel’s refusal to join this institution manifestly demonstrates its moral outlookand does a great deal of damage to our international image.
(28) – As the international court, which is globally endorsed, gains prominence, ourmilitary and political leaders may find themselves indicted in The Hague on the basis ofreports in the international media and without any assistance from Gush Shalom.
(29) – Laws allowing trials of such people are now being formulated in other countries, suchas Belgium. This means that international arrest warrants will be issued and will beeffective in all of Europe and in other countries.
(30) – The IDF has already recognized that its soldiers might be brought to trial in The Hagueand, therefore, is now preventing the publication of the names of officers and soldiersinvolved in certain operations. At the request of the IDF, Israeli TV has begun, onoccasion, to blur the faces of soldiers, as if they were juvenile criminals.
(31) – If some organization in Serbia had publicly warned Milosevic and his generalsagainst committing war crimes, all Israeli newspapers and politicians (except Sharon)would have applauded it.
(32) – In order to prevent public debate on the real conditions for peace and to maintain theIsraeli public’s belief that we are fighting an “unavoidable war”, Sharon is incitingagainst those who are striving for peace and reconciliation between the two nations.
Sample letters to officers