"I am proud and happy to do what I did", Mordechai Vanunu, unbowed and undefeated, greeted the world on his release after seventeen years and five months of imprisonment. A former worker at the Dimona nuclear facility, he was kidnapped by the Israeli state in 1986 in Rome after blowing the whistle on its nuclear weapons programme. The authoritative Jane's Intelligence Review has since confirmed Israel's possession of 200 nuclear warheads. 'Pentagon Papers' whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg - who took similar action in the Vietnam war - has called Vanunu 'the pre-eminent hero of the 21st century. In an attempt to crush and silence him Vanunu was kept in isolation for 11½ years. He has revealed the 'cruel and barbaric' treatment that was clearly intended to break him psychologically and drive him mad. Vanunu was locked up for revealing that the Israeli state, in defiance of all international laws and institutions, has an arsenal of the most dangerous weapons of mass destruction.
Yet no UN inspectors have been sent in. Far from • •• • • • •• antiwar Steve Bloom May 2, 2004 —On March 20 millions around the world marched once again for the withdrawal of US and allied forces from Iraq. Hundreds of thousands joined actions in cities and towns across the United States.
Since then, the news from Iraq has only gotten worse for the Bush administration. First there was the massive and visible resistance to occupation in Fallujah and other Iraqi
croes. Then the scandal broke about US soldiers torturing and humiliating Iraqi
detainees. Support for the administration's
war policies is at its lowest point since the
invasion last year.
Commentators everywhere have been
applying sanctions and launching all out war, the US and Britain have continued supplying a massive volume of arms and propping up the economy. The contrast with Iraq could not be more stark. Last year's war was started, it was claimed, because of an alleged failure to co-operate with inspectors looking for WMDs that we now know do not exist. The urgent necessity to challenge Iraq over this supposedly justified the killing of over 15,000 civilians and countless soldiers and the destruction of the country. Yet Vanunu has had half his adult life stolen in conditions of unimaginable brutality. In an attempt to undermine Vanunu's status as a Mandela of the New World Order - some have trotted out the absurd claim that as a 'democracy, the Israeli state somehow had a right to secret nuclear arsenals to defend itself. But the alleged proliferation of WMDs in the region (assuming stories about Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria to be true - which is very doubtful) was • itself triggered by Israel's nuclear weapon's programme and its belligerent attacks on the organising continues comparing what happened in Fallujah and the 1968 "Tet Offensive" in Vietnam, which exposed the fraud of claims that US Troops were there to protect the interests of the Vietnamese people.
A particularly significant development, in this context, has been the growth of antiwar sentiment among soldiers and their families. This has begun to take on an organizationa form with the creation of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO). Once again activists can recall the importance of the Gl antiwar movement during the 1960s and '70s, which ultimately made it impossible for the US to continue with the Vietnam war. On March 20, MESO played a central role in the
Palestinians, Lebanon, Iraq etc These countries' arsenals are comparatively pathetic. And it took until 2000 for the Israeli Knesset (parliament) to have its first debate about the nuclear weapons - almost fourteen years after the Vanunu kidnap. Some democracy! Even after his release, Vanunu isn't free yet. Israel has imposed severe restrictions on him, including not allowing him to leave Israel for the next twelve months at least. An appeal to the high court against these restrictions is expected to be heard within the next few weeks, which makes tant. FIRE RUMSFELD demonstration at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
The situation is, however, not without its problems for the movement. There is an ongoing split between two major national coalitions: International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice (UFP)).
ANSWER presents itself as a clear and forthright "anti-imperialist" coalition, and thereby attempts to establish its base among left-wing and revolutionary forces. At the same time it builds its actions through an appeal to popular antwar sentiment ANSWER also tends to make decisions in a select leadership circle, simply announcing them to others in the movement.
for Vanunu (left) - but heavy Israeli restrictions on his
movements and
right to free speech *BRAVO MORDECHAI INELCOME support for the petition below particularly imporUFP], on the other hand, has its main base (there are exceptions) among groups which do not explicitly take up global imperialist oppression.
Some would probably not even acknowl edge that there is such a thing as "imperialism." UFP] also has, at least formally, a more democratic structure, working through a national steering committee that was elected at an open conference in Chicago last Spring though some complain about a bureaucratic process of decision making in the coalition nonetheless.
ANSWER has been in the forefront of raising demands around the Israeli occupation of Palestine, linking this with the occupation of Iraq. UFP), while acknowledging the importance of Palestine, has been more cautious in its formulations, and in the prominence which it has given to this issue. For March 20 unity was forged, including a call for an end to
As global justice activist Arundhati Roy put it, "the world owes Mordech Vanunu... he is the bravest and the best".
For further information see www.vanunu.freeserve.co.ukand sig the petition at: http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/freemorde haivanunu/sigs.html the Israeli occupation, with some creat work done on both sides to adapt to lo relationships and political realities
More recently, however, Palestine become an even bigger issue after Bus public endorsement of Sharon's plan for outright annexation of more land on West Bank. ANSWER has now issued a for an emergency march on the Pentagon June 5, including a demand for the rign Palestinians to return to their traditic homes throughout historic Palestine. UF also projecting actions during the weel June 5-12, with Palestine as a central fo But the precise wording of slogans demands has yet to be developed. activists remain hopeful that the two gro will forge a united set of actions once aga
Steve Bloom is a member of the soci organization Solidarity and an activist in M York City.
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International Resistance