REFUSNIKS

47.There is a growing awareness amongst Israelis themselves that their Zionist government is following a wrong, if not disastrous course and several opposition groups have lately sprung up even within the military. They call themselves the REFUSNIKS. It is a growing relative new movements of soldiers and officers who refuse to serve in the West Bank. Their ideological opposition stems from their belief that "being ruled by another people, is as far from democracy as you can get". Denying the Palestinians their dignity and humanity is one of the great failings of contemporary Judaism and no historical calamity (the Holocaust) can justify it.
Indiscriminate violence against any people should be condemned, and even more so when it is committed by a people as persecuted throughout their history as the Jews. As long as Israel continues to be an aggressor state, we all have the moral duty to speak out.
How could one support a country with an army that frequently engages in war crimes in the occupied territories, collectively punishing its inhabitants, by destroying and stealing their land and houses under the pretext that this is done for "security reasons". How can one defend the thuggish behaviour of settlers illegally grabbing Palestinian land and terrorizing the local inhabitants. As a result many once thriving communities are now deserted. Many boarded-up shop fronts are sprayed with the David Star, a crude way of settlers to claim the property as their own. Their behaviour is reminiscent to the 1930'ties NAZI Germany, when Jews were evicted from their properties, houses and businesses by Hitler's "brown shirts" thugs during the 'Crystal Night' campaigns in German cities. Some of the graffiti in English included: "Die Arab Sand Niggers; Exterminate the Muslims; We will rape all Arab women; Kill the Arabs; White Power:kill niggers; Gas the Arabs and Arabs to the Gas-chambers". It is hard to believe that anyone, let alone the Jews, would emulate NAZI behaviour. Accepting this makes us guilty by association. No civilised human being should endorse or downplay such despicable behaviour.