[Jewish] Breaking the Silence

[Yonatan Tal Schechter]

Hey there,

Tomorrow (March 4) we are co-sponsoring a Breaking the Silence event.  It will
be at 7 PM in the West Lecture Hall.  Come and learn with us!

Sponsored by Hampshire UPZ and Western Massachusetts Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the
Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

A presentation by Israeli soldier Dotan Greenvald with photographs and
testimonials from a traveling exhibit based on the experiences of Israeli
soldiers in the occupied territories.

Dotan was born and raised Kiryat Yam near in Haifa. He was an activist in a
socialist youth movement, “Hanoar Ha’Oved Ve’Halomed” and he volunteered in
community education for a year before the army. Drafted to the IDF in August
2002, Dotan was placed at the Nahal Brigade and trained as a sniper. Out of the
three years of service, he spent two years in the Occupied Territories,
specifically in Hebron and the third year educating youth before their army
service. He is presently studying to become a tour guide in Israel, currently
living in Tzorah, a kibbutz near Beit Shemesh. Dotan has been active in
Breaking the Silence since the day he was discharged.

Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that
collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during
the Second Intifadah. Cases of abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and
destruction of property have been the norm for years, but are still excused as
military necessities, or explained as extreme and unique cases. Their
testimonies portray a different and grim picture of questionable orders in many
areas regarding Palestinian civilians. These demonstrate the depth of corruption
which is spreading in the Israeli military. Discharged soldiers who return to
civilian life discover the gap between the reality which they encountered in
the Territories , and the silence which they encounter at home. In order to
become a civilian again, soldiers are forced to ignore their past experiences.
Breaking the Silence voices the experiences of those soldiers, in order to
force Israeli society to address the reality which it created.

For more info, visit http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp.  We look forward
to seeing you there!

Love and peace,
UPZ