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Friday, March 04, 2005

European Jews for a Just Peace – Executive Committee

Singelkanaal 140/142, Amsterdam

Letter to the Government of Italy,

from European Jews for a Just Peace:

To the Honourable

Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Italy.

Honourable Prime Minister,

We, European Jews for a Just Peace, a Federation of Associations of citizens of several European States, most of which are members of the European Union, are worried to learn that the Italian Government decided to establish a military co-operation with Israel. Such co-operation includes the development of new weapons and military electronic devices, the training of military personnel and armaments trade.

We strongly object to such an agreement between Italy and Israel, on both ethical and political grounds.

According to international law, Israel is culpable, since many years, of continuous violations of the most basic of human rights. The military occupation, since 1967, of the territory on which the Palestinian State should be established, according to UN decision, and the uninterrupted establishment of Israeli settlements in those Territories, are against internationally established rules, to which Israel is itself subscribed.

A wall is being built, mostly in Palestinian territory, which often separates villages from their own cultivated land, depriving Palestinian farmers of their livelihood. The construction of the wall, condemned by the International Court of Justice, takes away a considerable part of Palestinian territory. Oppressive methods employed against Palestinians have included retaliation against relatives of Palestinian opponents and resistance fighters, not only of the terrorists, destruction of houses and of cultivated crops, subtraction of water from Palestinian population, indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women and children. Palestinian schools are prevented from functioning, public health structures cannot perform their duties and civilians are prevented from moving around by Israeli military checkpoints. Roads, built to connect Israeli illegal settlements, are forbidden to Palestinians. In Israel itself, citizens of Arab descent and/or Islamic religion are very heavily discriminated against for what regards most basic rights.

Such deeds are against international laws, and Israel is responsible of criminal violations. In such conditions, we believe we should object, from an ethical point of view, to any military co-operation with Israel; besides this, we think such a co-operation to be politically insane and against international rules. We believe that increasing the amount of weapons in the region does not help the difficult peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. We urge you, Mister Prime Minister, to take action to abolish the treaty of military co-operation between Italy and Israel.

On behalf of the Executive Committee of European Jews for a Just Peace,

Paola Canarutto – c. Lecce 52 – 10143 Torino (Italy)

Liliane Cordova Kaczerginski

Dror Feiler
Sveva Haertter

Dan Judelson

Marcel Stelzer

Daniela Fariba Vorburger

Max Wieselmann

January the 19^th, 2005