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Olmert a "clown" say the reservists from Sderot (file photo)
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| By israelinsider staff June 1, 2007 |
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100 reservists from Sderot have launched a public protest against the government, announcing in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that they find it difficult to serve in the reserves as long as the government continues to "abandon Sderot's residents."
Israel Radio correspondent Nissim Keinan reported that the leaders of the reserve soldiers told him that the final version of the letter they gave Yediot Ahronot did not say that they would not serve -- but instead "find it difficult" but the paper opted to publish an earlier draft of the letter. Refusal to serve is an illegal act, punishable by prison. The petition was signed by officers and soldiers in the reserve, both religious and secular.
This is the letter, modified to reflect the softened position (translation by IMRA)
"We are residents of Sderot who are reserve soldiers and officers. We were inculcated with the values of Zionism, Judaism and sacrifice for the State and its citizens. We believed that service in the IDF is a right and an obligation on behalf of the State of Israel and all its residents and that only this way is it possible to insure the existence of a safe home for the Jewish People of Israel and the Diaspora."
"Last summer we were called for the war in the North and we went out of a feeling of reciprocal pact, national obligation and common fate with the residents of the North. We feel that this pact was violated by the Government of Israel in Sderot and the communities adjacent to Gaza!"
"With a heavy heart and feelings of harsh disappointment we are writing this letter. We have already lost the ability to live normal civilian lives in our homes. Already for several years we cannot play with our children in the playgrounds or send them without fear to the parks and schools."
"We have stopped believing that someone is doing everything he can in order to protect us. We cannot accept that our children and the rest of the residents of the region will continue to be the canon fodder of the State of Israel."
"We have decided in light of the existing situation in which we are abandoned and our dear ones are unprotected without hope on the front -- we find it difficult to do reserve duty and protect the rest of the residents of Israel!"
"We demand that the State of Israel draft all of its resources in order to grant us security again. If the State cannot provide us this basic need we ask to be evacuated to other places. In a state where every man is for himself we have no alternative."
'No leadership in Israel'
Captain (res.) Adi Azran, who is one of the letter's signatories, told Ynet, "We decided to take this action, which goes against one of my greatest principles -- doing reserve duty -- because we came to the realization that there was no leadership in Israel, and that the leaders are a bunch of clowns."
Azran said he was outraged by the government's slow response to deal with Sderot's plight. "For seven years the residents have been asked to stand in the frontline without fortification, and have been told: Don't run away from Sderot, hold on. This cannot go on. The Philadelphi Route can be closed within 40 days, and a military campaign is definitely part of a political process. The petition's significance lies in it presenting an alternative."
Another signatory, Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Haim Kuznitz, said that he would have difficulty doing reserve duty when he gets called up. "The feeling is that we're being treated with disrespect. We listen to the ridiculous suggestions of the cabinet members and find it hard to believe. Minister Yishai has offered to wipe villages off the map, this is clearly an illegal order, and the IDF would not do such a thing. Minister Sheetrit offered firing Qassams back into Gaza. This is a disgrace, these are clowns." |
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