MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad (National Union) has been a leading figure in the escalating civil disobedience movement erupting in Israel ahead of the planned expulsion of the thousands of Jews living in Gaza and northern Samaria. MK Eldad told Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher that the urgent campaign is necessary due to the fact that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has crossed a red line.
Listen to the interview on Israel National Radio
On the other hand, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said the opposite today. Mazuz told Israel Bar lawyers that he will come down on anti-disengagement activists will the full might of the law, calling their actions “seditious” and promising to deal with them harshly and expeditiously. He said, "Unfortunately, those leading the struggle have crossed red lines many times. In meetings with the Council of Jewish Settlements of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (the Yesha Council), we have made it clear that we will ferociously defend their right to a public struggle and protest as long as they do not cross any red lines."
MK Eldad said that his campaign in favor of civil disobedience is designed to "save Israel from the dictator that has taken over."
Eldad has published a web page instructing citizens on the hows, whys and whats of civil disobedience, ranging from a tax revolt, to blocking roads, to government workers taking coordinated days off to thwart the pullout. “We cite previous acts of civil disobedience used in western democracies over the past 100 years or so,” he described. “We didn’t invent any of it.”
MK Eldad says the Jewish tradition of civil disobedience in the Land of Israel goes farther back than that of other western countries. “40,000 citizens of the Galilee blocked the roads against the Roman governors who tried to bring a statue of the Roman emperor Caligula to be erected in Jerusalem,” Eldad said.
A former Chief Medical Officer of the IDF, Eldad is has publicly called for soldiers and police officers to refuse orders relating to the disengagement plan. “This plan seeks to cause soldiers to violate the ethical code of the IDF,” he said, “which prohibits the use of force against non-combatants.”
Though busy coordinating various protest activities and speaking regularly from the Knesset plenum, Eldad makes sure to attend nearly all protest activities lending support to those imprisoned as part of the ongoing struggle. He visited the Russian Compound prison in Jerusalem on Monday, meeting the leaders of the “National Home” movement, which coordinated the massive road blockings two weeks ago.
On Wednesday, he will be visiting the 12-year-old girls who are being kept in solitary confinement at Maasiyahu Prison in Ramle for refusing to give their names to investigators.
“The government is confused,” MK Eldad said. “In some places they treat people cruelly, in others they talk to them. In some places they keep people together and others they keep them alone. They don’t understand kids and they don’t understand our kids.”
MK Eldad feels it is extremely important to let those in prison know that there are people outside who support them. “There is a demonstration every Saturday night outside the prison with loudspeakers,” Eldad said. “You don’t know how much encouragement that gives those inside, who can hear everything. Many more people should come and it should be held much more often.”
Asked about the various divisions within the anti-withdrawal camp regarding the ways in which the struggle should be carried out, Eldad said, “We are all on the same team. For some people, standing on the side of the road with a sign is the way to demonstrate. For others, handing out leaflets on the beach. And others are willing to go to jail. All of them serve the same purpose. We are all soldiers in the same battle and eventually we are going to win.”
Attorney General Mazuz, for his part, strong criticized the Ministry of Education for allowing teenagers jailed for blocking roads to take matriculation exams in prison.
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, in turn, criticized Mazuz, noting that even terrorists serving time for murder are allowed to take courses and tests - and even complete university degrees - behind bars.