Update January 12, 2009: RHR Actions on Gaza

Gaza Update

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I know that these are wrenchingly painful times for you, as they are for us. Our efforts on behalf of civilians on both sides seem so paltry in the midst of war. Here is an update on what RHR has been doing since the initial statement we sent you the day after the war began, as well as an additional piece that I wrote a week ago, and now have been able to translate. It addresses the idea that we have no alternative to war. You can also see a piece written by Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch on RHR's behalf in Hebrew on YNET at:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3651947,00.html. Unfortunately, the message of my piece is a little more challenging, and we haven't been able to get it published yet.

A number of RHR members and staff have had rockets fall close to their homes, while others have children and grandchildren who are soldiers. One of our Israeli Arab staff people has police units constantly at the entrance to her village. The police would say that this is to prevent unrest as took place at the outbreak of the war, but it is felt as a message that even peaceful voicing of an alternative opinion by Israeli Arabs is forbidden. Some 99% of Israelis (Including RHR) agree that the situation in the south was intolerable and had to be stopped. A smaller but significant number (I don't know the exact percentage) are also extremely concerned that we defend ourselves in as moral a way as possible. During the first week or so of "Cast Lead" we were told that the IDF was not harming citizens. It is perhaps a credit to Israelis that this is what they wanted to believe. However, as the numbers of dead children, reports of the IDF not allowing ambulances to get to the injured for days, etc. are gradually creeping into the Israeli press, the standard response has changed to "We have no choice."

RHR actions have been mostly on the public level - working with our fellow Israeli human rights organizations to get missing factual information to the Israeli public, as well as the human rights message that no civilians on either side should be targets. On its own, RHR has sought to deliver a Jewish message. We have been working together with additional human rights organizations on specific issues such as injured that need to be evacuated or the need to provide civilians with clean water and other basic humanitarian needs. We are currently trying to set up an interfaith prayer service, and possibly a fast. Physicians for Human Rights is very grateful that many of our supporters have contributed to their emergency appeal for funds for medical supplies, and have spoken to us about joining them in a convoy to bring supplies to the border.

Rabbi Gil Nativ and I were interviewed last week on Israeli television about our Jewish approach (I won't say "only" Jewish approach) to the war, while Rabbi Novis-Deutsch was interviewed on a second program.

Along with our fellow Israeli human rights organizations we have been pushing the message "Citizens are not cannon fodder - Not in Sderot and not in Gaza," and providing statistics and information not always appearing in the Israeli press. We published a joint ad in HaAretz with this message and statistics on the killed and wounded on both sides. We have created an info blog as part of our effort to encourage the press and others to publish information that, especially at the beginning of the war, was not appearing in the Israeli media.

The English version of the infoblog, which has less information than the Hebrew version, can be found at: http://trailer.web-view.net/Links/0X1CA35EAAC0667A23D3EBFE12A9183832A4325703DFADA46D5FEA070F29A35283922CE29858CA0810ABAEF99F4DF54BC975685D7293F3FC7DC02572BB5C960D4F552835B8FF6C759D.htm

We have been running a joint banner with a link on YNET, one of Israel's most visited electronic news outlets. We also have a hyperlink which we are encouraging people to spread "virally" which I am going to try and place on this email. It says in Hebrew "Enough of harming civilians." Clicking on it brings you to the message "Civilians are not cannon fodder," and from there one can go to the infoblog.

At the end of RHR's retreat last Wednesday and Thursday to mark our 20th anniversary, we issued a communiqu? calling for an immediate ceasefire and the supply of essential goods to Gaza, expressing our deep distress at the loss of life on both sides, offering the hope that a cease fire could lead to a durable long term solution and emphasizing the ultimate value of human life in the Jewish traditions, "One who destroys a single life destroys an entire world. One who saves a single life saves an entire world."(Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5) The retreat had originally been scheduled to take place in Ashkelon. While many of us wished to keep it there as an expression of solidarity with our fellow Israelis under fire, the Home Command forbade gatherings of over 100 people.

RHR has signed on to letters to the Defense Minister on behalf of 6 patients who needed life saving treatment they could not get in Gaza and to allow more fuel into Gaza. Three children finally made it to Israeli hospitals after the Peres Center agreed to fund their treatment. One man was transferred to an Egyptian hospital. Another man's situation improved and did not need to leave Gaza. The 6th woman was still waiting for a solution until the European Union pressured Israel to take her without a payment guarantee. Unfortunately, not all of these patients survived even after getting out of Gaza. Many additional patients are caught in political football between Israel, Hamas, the PA and Egypt. Hamas does not want to send patients to Egypt and Israel does not want to let patients into Israel without a guarantee of payment. The PA does not want to pay, claiming they are Israel's responsibility because they were injured in an Israeli attack. Many additional injured people are waiting to get out of Gaza.

The High Court heard arguments on Friday on two petitions brought by human rights organizations. One was regarding the intolerable situation in which ambulances are prevented from evacuating patients for up to a week. (See Physicians for Human Rights press release below) Sometimes the army simply does not make the necessary arrangements for the ambulances to travel safely and sometimes the forces on the ground don't know or respect those arrangements. Ambulances have been frequently fired on, although the army insists that this is not intentional. The second appeal by our fellow human rights organization, "Gisha," and to which RHR is signed on to, demands that Israel allow the delivery of fuel necessary for basic humanitarian needs such as the delivery of clean drinking water. The press release on this appears below. We joined this appeal after a joint letter by human rights organizations to Defense Minister Barak had no impact.

The High Court demanded that the State supply answers by Tuesday as to what measures they are taking and what further measures can be taken to allow the timely evacuation of the injured and a proper supply of fuel and electricity to Gaza. The judges were angry that the state didn't bring anybody who could give information as to what was actually happening in the field. The judges (and we) understood that "things happen" in war, but it was also clear to them that the State is obligated in these matters, and that waiting for 4 or 5 days, or even a week for evacuation is not reasonable. On Thursday the International Committee for the Red Cross issued an uncharacteristically sharp statement indicating that the army was not doing a reasonable job of allowing safe passage for ambulances and that they can not work in such conditions.. It was said in court that the Red Cross had indicated that ambulances were being fired on by the IDF. UNWRA had coordinated with the army on Thursday to bring fuel already on the Gaza side of the border to the Gaza power plant, but they turned back when they were fired on. Government lawyers said that they were in touch with the Red Cross , that a humanitarian command center had been set up on 6.1 and that they were doing everything they could under the circumstances. They said that ambulances were not being fired upon intentionally, but they were not willing to say that the firing would be stopped. (They did not even say that they were willing to stop the firing as long as not fired upon. They did indicate that there will now be a 3 hour cease fire each day.) One family mentioned in the appeal on evacuation was evacuated Friday morning, apparently because the army wanted them evacuated before the court hearing.

In a press release human rights organizations stated that those waiting for evacuation or in need of electricity, water and sanitation, can not wait until Tuesday.

And so we go on. When we feel that our actions will have no effect we must remember that we never know what little act will tip the scales one way or another. As we focus on this human rights disaster here and now we know that we must sow seeds for the future. With our eyes on Sderot and Gaza, we remind ourselves that we must also invest energies in our upcoming conference on the Israeli Wisconsin plan, in ongoing educational programs and in planting olive trees.