| November 5, 2007: This website is an archive of the former website, traprockpeace.org, which was created 10 years ago by Charles Jenks. It became one of the most populace sites in the US, and an important resource on the antiwar movement, student activism, 'depleted' uranium and other topics. Jenks authored virtually all of its web pages and multimedia content (photographs, audio, video, and pdf files. As the author and registered owner of that site, his purpose here is to preserve an important slice of the history of the grassroots peace movement in the US over the past decade. He is maintaining this historical archive as a service to the greater peace movement, and to the many friends of Traprock Peace Center. Blogs have been consolidated and the calendar has been archived for security reasons; all other links remain the same, and virtually all blog content remains intact. THIS SITE NO LONGER REFLECTS THE CURRENT AND ONGOING WORK OF TRAPROCK PEACE CENTER, which has reorganized its board and moved to Greenfield, Mass. To contact Traprock Peace Center, call 413-773-7427 or visit its site. Charles Jenks is posting new material to PeaceJournal.org, a multimedia blog and resource center.
Search
site - New! Calendar - Calendar
Archive Contents - Archives - War Crimes - GI Special - Student Activism - Links |
|
Israeli Draft Resister Noam Bahat Tours United States
photo © 2004 Charles Jenks
Hear his presentation with questions and answers:
1:03:29 MP3 - 21.9
mb for broadband or RealAudio™
for dialup connections.
(Tape begins just after the start of his presentation.)
Noam Bahat, 21, and a member of the Refuser Solidarity Network, visited Greenfield,
Massachusetts on Sunday, October 31. and Marlboro College, Vermont, on November
1, 2004. Traprock Peace Center and Temple Israel invited the public to hear
his commentary on choosing prison rather than conscription into the Israeli
Army. The program began with a song offered by Annie Hassett at Temple Israel,
27 Pierce Street, Greenfield. A potluck followed the presentation with questions
and answers. (We taped his presentation, but unfortanately a technical glitch
ruined the recording. Fortunately, organizer Lou Waronker consented to us
taping his presentation the next day in Marlboro, VT.)
Noam Bahat speaking to students at Marlboro College. photo
© 2004 Charles Jenks
Noam Bahat is touring the country with 4 other refusers. The national tour is cosponsored by the Refuser Solidarity Network and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). This speaking tour includes stops Massachusetts, Vermont, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Washington and California.
“What is conscience? Conscience is that little voice in your head that
tells you something you are doing or witnessing is wrong. The same voice that
will tell you to do something even if it is against your personal interest.
A conscientious person will follow his conscience and not his personal interest.
...”
Noam was first part of the Shministim (high school refusers) and then part
of the Convicted 5 - those who spent almost 2 years in jail.
“When I began my Year of Service I began to ponder a question which
only became more significant as time went on. What am I, an 18-year-old kid
with no ability to influence the system, supposed to do when the state of
Israel, my state, my homeland, destroys the lives and rights of three million
people. Every educator who aims to teach values should see as his or her purpose
not only the explanation and justification of those values, but the teaching
of critical thinking and the aspiration to make values into reality, and creation
of conscientious human beings who follow their morals and values. Children
are exposed to values and internalize them, but then comes the test of reality.
...”
The Jewish Peace Fellowship has materials on peace in the Jewish tradition
in a small pamphlet written for Jews considering conscientious objection,
called, “Wrestling with your Conscience.” This is of interest
in connection with this particular refuser who served two years in prison
for refusing to serve any military at all, at age 18. To download the pamphlet,
go to http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org/
and scroll down on the left side to the button that says Conscientious Objection.
You can also order the printed pamphlets for $2 from JPF and that info is
also on their website.
"…As a man of conscience I could not take part in the army of oppression."
Noam Bahat (from his testimony at his trial) At his sentencing, Shimri Zamaret,
one of five youths sentenced, reflected on the death of a friend who served
in the Israeli army: "I scream in my heart," he laments. "your
death was unnecessary."
November 10, 2004 - page created by Charlie Jenks