Voices

The Somerville Divestment Project has recently informed we Somervillians that it takes the voices of Israelis very seriously indeed by posting quotations in favor of divestiture from "Israeli citizen and former tank gunner" Shamai K. Leibowitz on the front page of its Web site.

One could make the point that a more honest introduction of Mr. Leibowitz might mention his major claim to fame: his role on the defense team of Marwan Barghouti, a senior PLO leader currently serving several life sentences for direct involvement in numerous mass-murder attacks against civilians.

However, let's put the Project's lapse in providing us this critical background information aside, for by posting Leibowitz's statement on their Web site they seem to be telling us a more important truth: that Israeli voices should be placed front and center in this discussion.

Given their concern, we can only assume that they are anxious that you and I take the following voices very seriously indeed. After all, the movement would not stoop to low hypocrisy by asking us to listen to fringe Israeli critics of the Jewish state, while ignoring other, far-more representative Israeli voices. Would they?

	The Palestinian entity will not sign any military agreement or any other agreement that includes a threat to the territorial integrity of the State of Israel, the security of its citizens or the integrity of their property. It will not sign any agreement regarding boycott or any other illegal steps against the Israeli economy nor any agreement involving negative propaganda against the State of Israel or against the Jewish people. Geneva Peace Accord architects Yossi Beilin (Israeli) and Yasser Adb-Rabbo (Palestinian) in article 6 of their co-drafted Geneva Peace Accords
	We are not going to take lessons about democracy or equality or human rights from anybody else after the torture, the suffering, that we went through. It makes injustice a joke. It turns human rights into an occasion to win points to justify the continuation of throwing bombs and using violence, and trying to boycott us, and trying to forget everything we were doing and why we were doing it. Shimon Peres, former Israeli Prime Minister, leader of the Labor Party, and architect of the original Oslo Accords
	We wish to turn over a new chapter in the sad book of our lives together - a chapter of mutual recognition, of good neighborliness, of mutual respect, of understanding. We hope to embark on a new era in the history of the Middle East. Slain Israeli Prime Minister Yithak Rabin (Peace by Upon Him)
	"The fact that Israel is condemned by the Committee on Human Rights in the United Nations more times than all dictators in the world together, and the Committee on Human Rights was until recently led by Libya. That itself shows the cynicism of the use of this term "human rights," and that there must be a very different standard which is used towards Israel than towards all these dictators... That's why, I think the way out of this is, for the sake of the world, not only for the sake of Jews, is to go back to basics: What are human rights? ... You cannot be a real defender of equality of women and demonstrate and support regimes which are killing hundreds of women by honor killings, or support them to escape honor killings through suicide bombing. You cannot be supportive of the rights of gays and support regimes which are killing gays. So we have to go back to basics, and to remind people what human rights means, and what is the connection between human rights, individual rights, the democratic society, and stability of the world." Former Prisoner of Conscience and Israeli political leader Natan Sharansky

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