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Micha Kurz: Soldiers and Silence in Israel
Micha Kurz was an Israeli soldier during the second intifada, and when he left the military he co-founded Breaking the Silence,
an organization that collects stories from members of the service
(which is compulsory in Israel for young men and women) who served in
the occupied territories. Breaking the Silence allows soldiers to
confidentially speak out about the things they did and saw while in the
military.
Kurz is now with Grassroots Jerusalem,
where he helps bring together grassroots social justice activists from
across Israel. Kurz notes that his Jewish upbringing is what caused him
to question the way Israel conducts the occupation and to speak out
against it, and he talks to Laura about what Americans can do to help
bring peace in Israel and Palestine.
GRITtv with Laura Flanders streams live weekdays at noon eastern, at www.grittv.org and is broadcast on cable and satellite TV. (On DishNetwork Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV 8 pm EST. For cable check local listings.)
4 Comments so far
Show AllThank you, thank you, so much, for presenting a truthful, eye-witness account of Israel's daily violations of law and abuses of human rights. Americans need to know what it is that they fund and defend.
Isn't it a sad repeat of history-- with the shoe on the other foot-- that ordinary Israeli citizens are thought to be unaware of the atrocities being committed in their names?
"We didn't know."
Isn't it a sad ignorance of history & current affairs that ordinary American citizens are unaware of the U.S. government's perpetration of war crimes and human rights violations the world over? "We didn't know."
And when such violations come home to roost, we'll say: "We
never thought it could happen to us."
Ray Berthiaume
I would be so proud to have that young man as my grandson!
Oh, I know what Americans can do to bring peace in Israel but, unfortunately, the Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians and Egypticians will be harmed by the fall out.