------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Feb. 13, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
PALESTINIAN CAUSE GAINS SUPPORT By Leslie Feinberg The indefatigable fight of the Palestinian people is inspiring resistance in Israel and around the world. Two recent examples. Student groups at York University in Toronto blocked the Jan. 28 lecture of Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum think tank--which describes itself as "promoting American interests in the Middle East." (The Globe & Mail, Jan. 24) Pipes is the creator of the forum's infamous Campus Watch web site, which posted online "dossiers" on professors and universities that dared to criticize Israel and express pro-Palestinian sentiment. Deep anger at Pipes' visit sparked calls for protest. "Our concern is the racism toward Middle Eastern students," said Ali Hassan, president of York's Middle Eastern Student Association. York University officials recall what happened last September at Montreal's Concordia University when former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to speak. Some 2,000 protesters--including Arabs and Jews--shut down the campus and took over the building where the Israeli war criminal was scheduled to lecture. Police hit demonstrators with batons, tear gas and pepper spray, but activists fought back in pitched battles with the cops and prevented Netanyahu from speaking. ISRAELI MILITARY OFFICER TRIED The Palestinian people's determination to throw off the yoke of occupation has created a rift in the ranks of the Israeli military. Draftees are refusing induction. Reservists have rebuffed superior officers and laid down their arms. And now, an Israeli military intelligence officer has been court- martialed for refusing an order that he deemed illegal. The officer, identified in court papers only as Lieutenant A, was charged with deliberately withholding military intelligence. According to the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv, the officer was asked to provide information about a target that the air force planned to attack in the West Bank city of Nablus. He determined that the military intended "to cause random casualties, and he balked at the order." He argued at his court martial that the order was illegal because it was primarily aimed at killing Palestinian civilians. The plea was rejected. So why was Lieutenant A merely drummed out of the intelligence branch and transferred to low-level administrative work? Why didn't he find himself behind bars? His actions reportedly created a split in the military. "This case is being widely talked about in the army now, and there's a lot of people who think he was right to do what he did," one officer observed. "You do not have to be the triggerman to be guilty of a crime." (The Guardian, Feb. 3) According to The Guardian, "The dissent by junior officers apparently prompted a light sentence for an offense that would usually see a soldier jailed." - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
