Israel

Omer Goldman was exempted from military service on Nov. 18 2008.
Omer was imprisoned for a total of 35 days in two prison terms and received a psychiatric exemption.

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How does a peace group interweave gender awareness into its peace work? This can be done through its organisational identity and structures, its training and orientation of members, and its development of program strategies.

New Profile, the Israeli peace organisation, describes itself as 'a group of feminist women and men who are convinced that we need not live in a soldiers' state'. Such a clear identification publicises the connections between gender and peace from the very beginning, for anyone who comes in contact with the organisation. New Profile breaks traditional organisational patterns by rotating leadership roles and all paid functions and tries to avoid having a hierarchy of activities. The group's many training and educational programs for new members and the public—workshops, seminars, youth groups, and conferences—always include an analysis of how gender and militarism are connected in Israeli culture and society. It also conduct whole-day study circles that look more deeply at the connections. One such study day in 2007, for example, used photographs of female soldiers from the army's archives to look at the the military recruitment of women in Israel and the general militarisation of the whole society. With such opportunities for study and discussion, New Profile members bring a deeper gender awareness to their problem analysis of militarism and their strategic action planning. New Profile's Small Arms and Light Weapons project not only looked into the problems and structure of the Israeli arms trade, but also investigated how small arms affected individual's lives and how New Profile could help redefine the term 'security' in Israeli culture.

More on New Profile in Israel - New Profile learns from the experience of others

In the previous month(s), the WRI office issued the following
co-alerts:

(a full archive of co-alerts is available at href=3D"http://wri-irg.org/news/alerts/">wri-irg.org/news/alerts)
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Turkey continues to dominate this issue of co-update, after we already opened the last issue with a long report on Turkey. However, the good news from the last issue cannot be repeated. This time we have to report that torture and abuse of a conscientious objector in a Turkish military prison does not necessarily lead to prosecution - or if it does, then to the prosecution of the victim.

Palestine solidarity groups from many countries are increasingly putting pressure on financial groups to disinvest from Veolia Environment, company involved in the construction of the illegal tramway in occupied East Jerusalem.

Along with various political, religious and national interests, the occupation is fuelled more and more by corporate - commercial interests.Israeli and international civilian companies and corporations are increasingly involved in real estate deals and infrastructure development in the Occupied Territories. We intend to collect existing and new information into an online dynamic database, and we plan to serve as an information center for queries about business and corporate involvement in the occupation.

Introduction

Today it is becoming increasingly clear that consistent feminism cannot do without a thorough analysis of militarism and that consistent antimilitarism cannot do without a deep understanding of gender issues in both theory and practice.

On the one hand, patriarchy and male dominance crucially rely on militarism, on the way militarism and war shape what is considered to be security, what is considered to be part of the public, rather than private, sphere, and on the constant dangers generated by weaponry and war.

For Participants in the WRI/New Profile Seminar om “Gender and Militarism”, Wahat al-Salam/Neveh Shalom 23-26 August 2007

From

Uri Davis, Sakhnin & Ramle, e-mail address: uridavis@actcom.co.il

Dear Friends,

At the outset, allow me salute you at the achievement of the above Seminar in Wahat al-Salam/Neveh Shalom.

As most or all of you might be aware, you arrive in a country named Palestine ripped apart by a conflict between a settler colonial apartheid state named the State of Israel and the

New Profile/WRI seminar, August 2007, Israel
Practical Information

Entering Israel would be possible without a visa for citizens of EU countries, North and South America, and some other countries. A visa is required for most of Africa, the former USSR, Turkey and many countries in Eastern Europe (if you're not sure, you can check on the Foreign Affairs Ministry website:

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/IsraeliAbroad/Continents, but note that some inaccuracies are possible.

Demand an end to the punishment of Israeli conscientious objectors

A campaign by War Resisters' International in co-operation with New Profile and Connection e.V.

In Israel, men and women are obliged to perform military service.

We would like to invite you to attend our international seminar on Gender and Militarism, which will take place on 23-26 August 2007, in Newe Shalom/ Wahat al Salaam, Israel.

On 9th June 2005, after the International Court of Justice's ruling against Israel's apartheid wall, a coalition of Palestinian Civil Society Organisations issued a ‘Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against apartheid Israel until it complies with International Law'.

Why of this campaign:

Israel destroys Palestinian lives, livelihoods and homes daily, refuses to stop building its illegal settlements and apartheid wall on stolen land, continues to control Gaza while slicing the Wes