"Kol Acher" - "The Other Voice" - "Die andere Stimme"
"Eineinhalb Millionen Palästinenser leben in unerträglichen Verhältnissen" - Eine bewegende Petition aus Sderot (Israel)
Über 2.300 Menschen (Stand: 6. Januar) aus Israel, darunter etwa 500 aus dem Ort Sderot, der in besonderer Weise den Raketenangriffen aus dem Gazastreifen ausgesetzt ist, haben bereits im November 2008 eine Petition unterschrieben, in der sie die israelische Regierung auffordern, Ruhe zu bewahren und den Gewaltkonflikt mit den Palästinensern nicht zu eskalieren. Die Gruppe, von der die Petition ausgeht, nennt sich "The Other Voice" ("Die andere Stimme").
Im Folgenden dokumentieren wir den Text der Petition sowie einen Artikel über die Proteste in Sderot.
One of the more moving voices of dissent is coming
out of Sderot and other Israeli communities around
Gaza. A group called "The Other Voice" has published a
petition calling for the Israeli government to prevent
escalation and restore calm to the area (the petition
and an article on the group are included as the first
items below). The petition was written in November and
is gaining more publicity now, for obvious reasons. It
states" We prefer an option of a cold war in which not
a single rocket is fired to a hot war with tens of
innocent victims and casualties from both sides." So
far more than 2,300 Israelis have signed it, including
more than 500 people from Sderot.
"Kol Acher" - "The Other Voice"
www.othervoice.org/welcome.htm
(petition translated here by Tom Pessah)
Kol Acher (The Other Voice) from Sderot and the
communities around Gaza calls on the Prime Minister and
the Defense Minister to act urgently to restore calm in
the area.
The period of calm dramatically changed the lives of
the inhabitants of Sdrerot, Ashkelon and the
communities around Gaza, and enabled us all to re-
experience a normal and sane life. Continuing the
period of calm is crucial and critical for the
inhabitants of the areas from every possible angle:
physical, psychological, mental and economic.
Another round of escalation could break down our
psychological strength, fragile as it is, and bring all
of us into another round of self destruction and
pointless bloodshed. We will not necessarily survive
it, and you should be aware of that, if you really care
about the inhabitants of the area. We've been in this
movie for too many years, and the results speak for
themselves ? a feeling of no way out, abandonment and a
loss of hope for us and our children!
On the other side of the border a million and a half
Palestinians live in an unbearable reality, and the
majority of them, like us, want quiet and a future for
themselves and their families.
We feel that you wasted the period of calm, instead of
using it to promote understandings and the beginning of
negotiations, as well as continuing to fortify the
houses of the inhabitants, as you promised.
We call on the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister
not to lend your ears to the voices of incitement, and
to do whatever you can to prevent another round of
escalation, to promise the continuation of the period
of calm and to work quietly for direct or indirect
negotiations with the Palestinian leadership in Gaza in
order to achieve a document of long term
understandings.
We prefer an option of a cold war in which not a single
rocket is fired to a hot war with tens of innocent
victims and casualties from both sides.
We ask that you offer us an option of a settlement and
political hope, and not an endless cycle of
bloodshed!
"Kol Acher" - The Other Voice is a group from Sderot
and the communities around Gaza , which has been
engaged for the past year in conversations with people
from the Gaza Strip that represent "an other voice". In
the conversations, the suffering and hardship on both
sides of the border come up, as well as the mutual will
to break the continuing cycle of violence, and to offer
a political option that will give civilians on both
sides of the fence a true hope for a better future.
Quelle: www.othervoice.org/cgi-bin/petition1.pl
Sderot, Gaza residents call for renewal of truce
Some 1,800 Israelis and Palestinians, including 500
Sderot residents, sign petition calling for end to IDF
operation in Gaza, renewal of dialogue between Israel,
Hamas
by Daniel Edelson
Despite the ongoing rocket attacks on their town from
Gaza in the last several years, some 500 Sderot
residents have recently signed a petition calling to
stop the IDF operation in the Strip and renew the truce
with Hamas.
Arik Yalin, 43, from Sderot told Ynet that over 1,800
Israelis and Palestinians have already joined the
petition. "About a month ago we realized that the
situation was about to deteriorate into total chaos,"
he explained.
"It's important for us to voice an opinion that
represents quite a few residents who live within the
rocket range but who believe that we can, and should
try to resolve this ongoing conflict in a peaceful
manner
"We have experienced the terrible hardship of life
under rocket fire for the past eight years, and it has
deeply hurt us both mentally and physically. Our need
to voice a different stance stems from the strong
desire to change the situation and begin negotiations
with the other side in order to stop the violence," he
added.
According to Yalin, a military operation will only
deepen the hatred on both sides and reduce the chances
of reaching a settlement. "The underlying assumption is
that eventually there would be some kind of
understanding. The only question is how many innocent
people would get killed along the way."
'Operation only leads to more hate'
Hakim Hassona, the owner of a Gaza hauling company,
praised the initiative. "Why use violence when there
are no winners in this war?" he asked. "At the end we
are cousins and neighbors and there's no need to get
into this situation.
"They say that an assault will create deterrence, but
what kind of deterrence? This only leads to more hate.
There isn't a family in Gaza who hasn't had a relative
hurt in the raids? the ordinary person doesn't care
about the war, he just wants to live in peace."
The "Different Voice" group, which was formed by Yalin
and his friends, seeks to promote dialogue between
Israel and the Hamas leadership in Gaza. Dozens of the
group members maintain constant contact with several of
Gaza's residents.
Quelle: www.ynet.co.il/english/
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