Israeli pilots refuse to 'harm civilians'

[Nottingham]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=def4a5be6b98a3b0

Jerusalem - Twenty-seven Israeli pilots said on Wednesday they would refuse to carry out operations in the Palestinian territories, an Israeli air force officer said.

The pilots sent a letter to the Israeli air force commander declaring their refusal to carry out duties, which include track-and-kill operations, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

A security source earlier said the pilots numbered 25.

"We, veteran pilots and active pilots alike... are opposed to carrying out illegal and immoral attacks, of the type carried out by Israel in the territories," one of the pilots told Israel's Channel 2.


:bounce:All I can say is even Israeli Military is getting upset

[Chico Man]

1. This is spectacular

A ray of hope.

[WheresWaldo]

2. so happy to hear this...

I wish more audible Palestinian, Arab and Muslim voices would speak out about terrorism. There are plenty that do, unfortunately, they dont get much press. Anyways, this is a good sign, and is hopefully indicative of a turning of the tide in Israel again towards Labor.

peace, salaam and shalom...

[beanball]

3. Support for the pilots

screw Sharon.

[cprise]

4. YES!

Good for them, and good luck!

[Myra]

5. Wow, those are true heros

Maybe it'll be the start of some better
feelings between people of the two countries...
in spite of their crappy leaders.

[J B]

6. Bleh. You seen the responses in Israel? Any of you?

Stuff like "If they thought it was an illegal order then they should have refused to the commanding officer, not write a letter." And "This is the worst form of treason." And "This is fulfilling Arafat's dream of a broken Israeli society." And basically this is aiding another Holocaust so it's blood treason.

Have you read any of it?

[tinnypriv]

9. Yeah I've read some

In Israel a lot of people are plenty pissed off as far as I can see (with some dissenting views, naturally). :)

Some comments I've seen:

"Take away their pension and make them a bus security guard" (hebrew, comment 377)

"Send them to Gaza as a patrol soldier" (comment 418)

"The more the merrier!" (hebrew, comment 397)

"Leftist pilots = traitors who should be ashamed" (hebrew, comment 259)

"Arafat has invited them to do this, they should face a court martial" (hebrew, comment 155)

"Bravo! We need this to end the occupation - Shana Tova" (comment 132)

"Just egotistic pilots" (hebrew, comment 89)

"Honor/all the best to you! Thanks to the 27!" (hebrew/english, comment 348)

"This will bring anarchy and drive our enemies to attack us" (hebrew, comment 5)

"Peace Now should be outlawed - they are a danger to the confidence of the country" (hebrew, comment 101)

"27 retirees are a drop in the ocean" (comment 188)

"Do you remember the buses, idiots?" (comment 276)

"Well done!" (hebrew, comment 303)

"Breath of fresh air soldiers, well done!" (hebrew, comment 325)

"It is too easy to blame them, who is really guilty? The left education is" (hebrew, comment 363)

All from: http://images.maariv.co.il/channels/1/ART/545/117.html

Not sure if you know, but Ma'ariv is a mass circulation centrist daily so they're usually a reasonable representation of mainstream views in Israel, especially so since they only publish in Hebrew (unlike Ha'aretz).

With regards to this, Sharon says today in Yediot that the IAF is not an "as you want" program.

BTW, full disclosure: I help out at http://www.refusersolidarity.net.

[The Magistrate]

12. That Is Not Too One-Sided A Sampling, Mr. Priv

Which is good news indeed. Though my view of the matter is different from that of these gentlemen, they are certainly right to act in accord with their own consciences, and deserve respect for having done so in the face of certain difficulty. It is good to see they have the support of many people in their own country in doing so. One of the ways wars come to an end, after all, is when soldiers themselves "down tools" and walk out.

[tinnypriv]

13. I think it is difficult to measure how much support they have

Certainly the majority of the comments on the site I sampled are negative, but not overwhelmingly, hence the ratio of postive comments I included.

Also worth taking into account is the fact Ma'ariv online (not print) sometimes skews right in interesting ways too - a recent online poll of theirs said that expulsion of Arafat would garner 80% support. The day after, a telephone poll of 1,005 Israeli adults showed just 45% overall support.

But usually the comments section is right in the centre which is why I often check that out (again, there are exceptions to that - a recent example being comments on the death of Edward Said, most of which are despicable).

Also worth noting is the reason why this has caused such a storm in Israel: the IAF is considered the elite of the army.

Since the army obviously has a very unique position in Israeli culture anyway, the refusal of these pilots is therefore very important psychologically.

[The Magistrate]

14. In My City, Sir

All the newspaper call-in polls slew greatly rightwards as well. Angry people are more likely to participate, after all, and rightists are generally tight little balls of rage and frustration at heart. So my expectation would be that the ratio you have shown above would indicate roughly a fifty-fifty split among the people concerning this.

It is indeed signifigant when it is a refusal by an elite corps of officers, for these must be assumed more thoroughly imbued with martial spirit. It is certainly a good development: my leading desire is for the damned thing to stop; how it does is of much less moment.

[Dead_Parrot]

15. Depends...

on how many DIDN'T protest. You're not telling me Israel have under 100 pilots, are you? (!). This is probably just a drop in the ocean...

But good luck to those who drew a line against the dark. Stay well, my friends...

[The Magistrate]

16. The Question, My Norwegian Blue

Was concerning support for these gentlemen's action among the Israeli populace at large. They are, indeed, only a tiny fraction of Israel's pilots. But it is a difficult step to take, and must represent qualms among many more men than actually signed the declaration.

"'E's not dead! 'E's pinin' for the fiords...."

[tinnypriv]

17. 27 *is* a drop in the ocean numerically

But that is still extremely important regardless. The army is terrified of the refusenik movement. They've been trying to supress it for a long time.

[Forkboy]

10. What do you mean in Israel?

you can read stuff like that down in I/P.

[peterh]

7. and now...they've been gounded...

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3191537,00.html>


JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's air force on Thursday temporarily grounded reserve pilots who - in an unprecedented protest - condemned air strikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as ``immoral'' and announced that they will no longer fly such sorties.


:-( not a real surprise

[proud patriot]

8. Bless them

The courage it takes to do this , ...well I'm in awe ..
:loveya:

[Zhade]

11. BRAVO! Courageous and inspiring - Netanyahu's nephew set a great example!

NT!