|
Page 4 of 4 AMY GOODMAN: What is the response of other fighters, people who -- and former fighters in Fatah, in Hamas, to what you are doing, calling for a nonviolent solution?  BASSAM ARAMIM: Yes, we have a big group. Almost we have 100, at least, Palestinians ex-fighters and ex-prisoners who believe in this new way, and they are very courageous. And I want to thank them. Also I want to thank the Israeli combatants or soldiers for their moral and courageous stand to refuse to be a part of Palestinian suffering to refuse to be a part of the occupation. AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe, Yonatan, your first meeting with Bassam? BASSAM ARAMIM: Yes. YONATAN SHAPIRA: Yeah, AMY GOODMAN: Yes, I’m asking Yonatan to describe his first meeting with you. YONATAN SHAPIRA: We were a small group. It was at the beginning when we started to initiate this group, and we decided at each meeting we will start by one or two people from each side will tell their own story, so we'll start to create these bonds, this connection to each other. And it was very strong to hear what Bassam has to say and what Suleiman, another guy there, has to say. For them to listen to Israeli soldiers telling about, for example, one guy in our group was the commander of the Kalandia checkpoint, which is a horrible place where thousands of Palestinians are standing every day and being humiliated, and to see suddenly the commander of this checkpoint sitting with them as a refuser, as a refusenik, saying that he is going to work with them hand by hand, side by side, to put an end to this crazy situation was something very, very exciting and encouraging. I just want to mention -- I know that we don't have too much time -- in October, an organization that was established by faculty, called Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, FFIPP, is going to bring Bassam and me to the States to a big national -- touring campuses, giving lectures and meeting students and meeting media and everyone that wants to listen to the message that we have to say. If people are interested to having us in their campus, they can contact this organization, FFIPP. AMY GOODMAN: I will link -- at Democracy Now!, we'll link to that organization, and people could go to our website at democracynow.org. YONATAN SHAPIRA: If I can mention last thing, if we still have one minute, there is the issue of normalization, and many Palestinians are afraid that when you create a dialogue group, you also have some kind of accepting the occupation, accepting your oppressor, but this group is different. Once you are creating a coexistent group, a group of people who are reconciling with each other, but also are extremely connected to the political call and to the political action, I think it's right and it has a right to exist now. We are not just solving our own problems and curing our own wounds. We also call for massive pressure against the Israeli government that continues this occupation, and this must be mentioned. AMY GOODMAN: Do you see that pressure building in the United States, as an Israeli who's been spending time here? YONATAN SHAPIRA: You know, it's one of the hardest things, because there is so much ignorance here, and seeing what your government is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and all over the world, you don't have so much hope. But sometimes you must do something in order to still have a reason to live and to wish in this world, and I also believe that if we can put some pressure on European leaders that are a bit less ignorant than your government, maybe we can make something. AMY GOODMAN: We have to leave it there. Yonatan Shapira, former captain of the Israeli Air Force Reserve. Also joining us from East Jerusalem, Bassam Aramim, a former member of Fatah, served in an Israeli jail for seven years, arrested when he was 17 years old. Recommend this article...
 Quote this article on your site | Views: 2111
Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4
Tags: Israeli-Palestinian Combatants For Peace
|
Commentary 
