Dear Friends,
Wed, 14 Aug 2002 14:00
We just came back from a first visit to Jonathan(we’re allowed only two visits for a full month term…). His conditions are depressing, and it’s clear to us that the Israeli government is trying its best to break the spirit of conscientious objectors. We were left outside, in forty degree (celsius)heat, to wait for more than three hours (we were told to come at 15:00 and were allowed in at 18:15 for a thirty minute meeting). We were the last (of hundreds of visitors) to be admitted. It’s clear that people like Jonathan are considered (by our own government…) to be more dangerous than all sorts of criminals.
He was made to wait for us from 13:00 (over FIVE hours),in the heat, and you can imagine the psychological stress on him (he wasn’t told we were waiting outside…). We save you further details about their attempts to break his spirit. We were, though, comforted by his strong standing.
We therefore need your action! International pressure on the Israeli government and Embassies is our best hope. Please see also the Amnesty International website concerning Jonathan:
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http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/pages/IOT_Conscientious_Objectors
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With deep gratitude
Ofra and Matania Ben-Artzi.:
Matania Ben-Artzi : mbartzi@yahoo.com