Conscientious objector Noam Gur sentenced to prison for her refusal to join the Israeli Army

In her refusal declaration Noam wrote: “I refuse to join an army that has, since it was established, been engaged in dominating another nation, in plundering and terrorizing a civilian population that is under its control.”

IOA Editor: Please support this latest Israeli conscientious objector. While a 10 day jail sentence may seem ‘light,’ past experience shows that the IDF is likely to re-sentence a CO repeatedly, typically many times, until she changes her mind. A campaign in support of the courageous Noam Gur will not only help her but will encourage other young Israelis to refuse military service.



By New Profile, via email – 18 April 2012

First Prison Term for Conscientious Objector Noam Gur

Noam Gur, 18 year old from, Kiryat Motzkin near Haifa, arrived yesterday morning, Monday, 16 April, to the [IDF] Induction Base in Tel Hashomer, where she declared her refusal to serve in the Israeli Army as it is an occupying force. She was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment for her refusal.

In her refusal declaration Noam wrote: “I refuse to join an army that has, since it was established, been engaged in dominating another nation, in  plundering and terrorizing a civilian population that is under its control.”

You can read more about Noam here

Her prison address is:

Noam Gur
Military ID 6084062
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: 

Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send them your letters of support and encouragement via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting “reply all” to this message will send the message to the same address), and they will be printed out and delivered during visits.

Recommended Action

First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, social networks, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc. Other recommendations for action:

1. Sending letters of support

Please send Noam letters of support to the prison address above and to [email protected] .

2. Letters to the authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors’ behalf, preferably by fax, to:

Mr. Ehud Barak
Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence
Hakirya,
Tel-Aviv 64743
Israel
E-mail: [email protected]  or pnio[email protected]
Tel.:  or 
Fax: 

Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 6
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: 

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:

Denny Efroni,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: 

It would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison, and it is the same officer who is ultimately in charge of the military Conscience Committee:

Gil Ben Shaul,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: 

For those of you who live outside Israel, it would be very effective to send protests to your local Israeli embassy. You can find the address of your local embassy on the web.

Here is a generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners’ behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own:

Dear Sir/Madam,

It has come to my attention that Noam Gur (military ID 6084062), a conscientious objector to military service, has been imprisoned for the second time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 6 near Atlit.

The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Gur is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals.

I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of  Noam Gur, without threat of further imprisonment in the future, and urge you and the system you are heading to respect the dignity and person of conscientious objectors, indeed of all persons, in the future.

Sincerely,

3. Letters to media in Israel and in other countries

Writing op-ed pieces and letters to editors of media in Israel and other countries could also be quite useful in indirectly but powerfully pressuring the military authorities to let go of the objectors and in
bringing their plight and their cause to public attention.

Here are some contact details for the main media outlets in Israel:

Ma’ariv:
2 Karlibach st.
Tel-Aviv 67132
Israel
Fax: 
e-mail: [email protected]  <mailto:[email protected]

Yedioth Aharonoth:
2 Moses st.
Tel-Aviv
Israel
Fax: 

Ha’aretz (Hebrew):
21 Schocken st.
Tel-Aviv, 61001
Israel
Fax: 

Ha’aretz (English edition):
21 Schocken st.
Tel-Aviv, 61001
Israel
Fax: 
e-mail: [email protected]  <mailto:[email protected] > 

Israel Hayom:
2 Hashlosha st.
The B1 Building
Tel-Aviv
Israel
e-mail: [email protected] il <mailto:[email protected] co.il>

Jerusalem Post:
P.O. Box 81
Jerusalem 91000
Israel
Fax: 
e-mail: [email protected]  <mailto:[email protected] > or
[email protected]  <mailto:[email protected]

Radio (fax numbers):
Kol-Israel:   and  

Galei Zahal 

Television (fax numbers):
Channel 1 
Channel 2 
Channel 10 

We will continue updating on further developments.

Thank you for your attention and action,
Yotam Shlomo
New Profile

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