Good News!

by Polly Mann, WAMM

Israeli Soldier Refuses to Fight

Israeli soldiers have begun to refuse to serve in the occupied territories. When Sgt. Yishai Rozen-Zvi of the Israeli reserve army was notified that he would be assigned to a unit near Nablus, he made a strong statement denouncing the policy of the Israeli government toward the Palestinians. As a result of his refusal, he was sentenced to thirteen days in jail. Rosen-Zvi is an observant Jew; he attended a settlers' religious school, and is the first graduate of that network to refuse to take part in the current campaign of repression against the Palestinians. (Nonviolent Activist, July/August 2001)

Women in Black Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Women in Black was the first group to reach out to displaced Kosovar Albanians when the conflict grew severe. In Israel, the group has insisted on dialogue and reconciliation. All the Women in Black groups around the world present a vision of peace that includes nondiscrimination, anti-sexism, and anti-racism. The international movement began in 1988 a month after the first Palestinian Intifada began. Once a week at the same hour and in the same location, wearing black clothing, they raised a black sign in the shape of a hand that read, "Stop the Occupation." The idea spread quickly and spontaneously to other places in Israel and abroad, including Saint Paul, where a weekly vigil is now held each Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the corner of Summit and Snelling Avenues.

WAMM Member's Book Reviewed in Peacework

My Lord Bag of Rice, a collection of short stories by WAMM member Carol Bly, was reviewed in the July/August 2001 issue of Peacework, a publication of the American Friends Service Committee. The review was very favorable and included discussion of the story "After the Baptism." The protagonist of this story is the owner of a chemical weapons plant. WAMM members might also be interested in "The Last of the Gold Star Mothers."