*Dear Alanis Morissette, we write to you with great urgency as Israel escalates it's onslaught on the Gaza strip*
 

An appeal from Israeli citizens to musicians scheduled to perform at the Jerusalem Oud Festival, November 2012

13 October 2012

To whom it may concern,

We are Israeli citizens who are active against our government’s policies of racism, apartheid and occupation towards the Palestinian people. In particular, many of us are veteran activists in the campaign against Israel’s illegal colonization and settlement construction policies in the occupied West Bank. We have learned that Israel's Cameri Theatre is due to perform in New Delhi on Nov 4th 2012.  Since the Cameri is complicit in grave violations of international law, which amount to war crimes, and since it serves as an official propaganda tool for the Israeli government, we are calling for the invitation to be rescinded.

1 October 2012
To whom it may concern,

We are a group of Israeli citizens, active against our government’s policies of racism, apartheid and occupation. Many of us are veteran activists, and we have witnessed or researched the extent of the devastation left by the Israeli army in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Lebanon. Thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed by Israel in the past decade alone, using hi-tec weapons. Thousands of civilian homes were demolished. Much of this has been carried out by the Israeli air-force.

If the Italian government and Italian companies sell M-346 jets and other types of military equipment to Israel, they are overlooking the Israeli army’ war crimes during the 2006 assault on Lebanon. No action on behalf of any Lebanese party could justify the destruction of entire neighborhoods in Beirut and the mass bombing of villages in Southern Lebanon or the use of cluster bombs, which has cost the lives of, or caused horrific injuries to, numerous civilians, including children.

Furthermore, If the Italian government and Italian companies sell M-346 jets and other types of military equipment to Israel, they will be overlooking the war crimes committed in Israel’s December 2008 - January 2009 “Operation Cast Lead". During this assault, Israel’s "air power" rained down on the unarmed civilian Palestinian population, killing 1400, of which 400 children. In this brutal military action, Israel used new unknown weapons as well as those already prohibited by international conventions (white phosphorus, DIME bombs, depleted uranium) and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity as documented in the UN "Goldstone Report". No action on behalf of any Palestinian party could justify these crimes.

In view of the above, we would like to express our solidarity with Italian activists who are campaigning against Alenia Aermacchi, Finmeccanica and cynical Italian arms dealers. We strongly condemn those who profiteer from the death and suffering of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and other parts of  the world. We strongly encourage Italian activists who are trying to build a peace economy instead of a war economy.

We are calling for an immediate arms embargo on Israel, and an end to all military-related training and consultancies with the Israeli army, military companies and academic research institutions. In addition to halting the sale of M-346 jets to Israel, we are also calling for the suspension of the military cooperation agreement between Italy and Israel signed in 2005.
More specifically, We are calling on the Italian government, as well as other European governments  to:

• Immediately cease any provision to Israel of arms and related products of all types, including the sale or transfer of weapons and munitions, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary police equipment, including dual-use equipment, and spare parts; and also cease the provision of all types of equipment and supplies and grants of licensing arrangements for the manufacture or maintenance of these weapons.
• Stop all military and dual-use imports (equipment, assistance and munitions) from Israel.
• Stop the transfer of military products to and from Israel through national ports, territory and airspace.
• Stop cooperation with the Israeli army, military companies, and military-related R&D projects, including joint ventures (whether bilateral or multilateral).
• Halt all military-related training and consultancies with the Israeli army, military companies and academic research institutions.
• End all military aid to Israel.

We would like to stress that Italian companies and institutions  which do engage in collaboration with Israeli military institutions become complicit in the aforementioned  violations of international law, including war crimes.

Sincerely,

[PDF version here]
14 September, 2012

Dear Paola Maugeri,

We write to you as citizens and residents of Israel who believe that we share similar values concerning human nature and the importance of taking responsibility and action in the world that we live in. It has come to our attention that while promoting a zero-impact lifestyle that is respectful of animal rights and is environmentally-friendly, you have also undertaken the task of promoting Soda-Stream – a company located on occupied and stolen land that is directly involved in activity against all of the values mentioned above. We are baffled by your choice and would like to take this opportunity in offering our view on the environment, the animals and the people living in this region.
 

Dear Deputy Minister Ebrahim,

 We are a group of Israelis who, like the majority of people around the world, are horrified by the actions and policies of our government. We support Palestinian civil society's call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli government and Israeli institutions.

“Let's work together
We are one big family
Joined forever like the branches of a tree
In this world we are neighbors
There is no immunity

We are a group of Israeli citizens.