[News] Vanunu Returns To Prison

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Vanunu Returns To Prison And The End Of Israel's Nuclear Ambiguity

By Eileen Fleming
http://countercurrents.org/felming110510.htm

11 May, 2010
Countercurrents.org

On May 11, 2010, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled 
that<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu> 
Mordechai Vanunu, will “serve a three-month jail 
sentence handed to him by Jerusalem District 
Court and not community service. ” [1]

The ‘justices' refused Vanunu's offer to do 
community service in occupied east Jerusalem, 
because they do not view that side of town to be a part of their community.

On April 30, 2007, the Jerusalem Magistrate's 
Court, convicted Vanunu on 14 [out of 21] counts 
of violating a court order prohibiting him from 
speaking to foreign journalists in 2004. Vanunu 
was also convicted for traveling the four miles 
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem when he hoped to 
attend Christmas Eve mass at the Church of the 
Nativity, his first Christmas after being 
released from 18 years in jail [most of it in solitary] on April 21, 2004.

On July 2, 2007, Israel sentenced Vanunu to six 
more months in jail for speaking to foreign media in 2004.

On September 23, 2008, the Jerusalem District 
Court reduced Vanunu's sentence to three months, 
"In light of (Vanunu's) ailing health and the 
absence of claims that his actions put the 
country's security in jeopardy." [2]

On December 21, 2009, Uzi Eilam, an Israeli 
scientist, Tel Aviv University chemistry 
professor, former worker at Israel's Dimona 
reactor, former member of Israeli parliament, and 
the former head of Israel's Atomic Energy 
Commission told PRESS TV that Vanunu "served the 
regime because his revelations helped Tel Aviv 
intimidate others...I've always believed he 
should be let go. I don't think he has 
significant knowledge to reveal (about Dimona) now. ”

On May 10, 2010, Uzi Even, spoke on Israeli army radio:

"The policy of nuclear ambiguity, by which we 
fool only ourselves and nobody else, is not good 
for us any more. It was good, effective and 
successful for close to 40 years, but over 40 
years many things changed and now I am telling 
you clearly, this policy is no longer in our interest." [3]

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded 
during a foreign affairs and defense committee parliamentary meeting:

"I don't think there is a real danger or threat 
to Israel's traditional position, as it has been 
expressed over the years. The link between us and 
the United States is more complex than it may appear." [Ibid]

Strategic Affairs Minister Dan Meridor told reporters:

"The understanding we have with the United States 
and other countries for many years has been quite 
effective. It need not change. "

Meridor also dismissed as “unimportant” Egypt's 
tabling of a motion on Israel's nuclear weapons 
status for a June meeting in Vienna of UN 
watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency:

"From time to time this issue is raised at the 
IAEA and other places. It's not the first time 
it's mentioned and it's not the first time we'll 
find a way, with the rest of the world, to deal with it."

But the times are always a' changing and 2010 
could prove to be the year of implementation of 
the 1995 NPT resolution on the Middle East, which 
could be the straw to break wide open Israel's 
hypocritical and ineffective policy of nuclear ambiguity.

I ncluded in the w orking paper review , 
submitted to the 2010 NPT Review Conference , 
Israel's sacred cows of “Security” as well as the 
issue of nuclear weapon free zones and the 
transferring of nuclear materials were all 
addressed. A ll states possessing nuclear weapons 
are being called to declare and maintain a 
moratorium on the production of fissile material 
for weapons purpose, and to place under IAEA safeguards fissile material.

The Arab League and Iran proposed, “ that states 
parties should reaffirm the total and complete 
prohibition of transfer of any nuclear- related 
equipment, to non-parties to the Treaty, without 
exception and in particular to the Israeli regime.” [4]

The New Agenda Coalition, composed of Brazil, 
Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South 
Africa, and Sweden, are an international 
consensus making progress on nuclear disarmament. 
They have been joined by Libya, Egypt, Algeria 
and China in recommending the Nuclear 
Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference/REVCON 
to call on Israel to join the NPT and place its 
nuclear facilities under the full scope of IAEA safeguards.


The Arab League also called on the UN Security 
Council “to exert genuine pressure on Israel to 
implement UN resolutions concerning the 
establishment of a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the Middle East.” [Ibid]

Egypt and Algeria also proposed that the “RevCon 
reaffirm that any nuclear supply arrangement to 
Israel, related to source or special fissionable 
material, require it to join the NPT as a 
non-nuclear weapon state and place all its 
nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.” [Ibid]

Libya proposed that if states engage in nuclear 
trade with Israel, the embargo on exports of such 
technology to other states in the region should 
be lifted and that nuclear weapon states should 
give assurances that they will honor Article I of 
the NPT in relation to Israel.

Article I states:

Each nuclear-weapons state (NWS) undertakes not 
to transfer, to any recipient, nuclear weapons, 
or other nuclear explosive devices, and not to 
assist any non-nuclear weapon state to 
manufacture or acquire such weapons or devices.

Egypt, recommend the RevCon convene “an 
international conference to launch negotiations, 
with the participation of all States of the 
Middle East, on an internationally and 
effectively verifiable treaty for the 
establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.”

Libya and the Arab League also invited the UN to 
convene a conference on the subject and France 
called for such a conference to be attended by 
all concerned states, all the states in the 
region, the other P5 countries who are Great 
Britain, United States, China and Russia as well as the UN and the IAEA.

Japan and the United Nations University 
underscored the importance of a coordinated and 
sustained cooperation with civil society to 
educate and promote disarmament and nuclear 
non-proliferation to lead to a global forum that 
brings together civil society and governments.

Gandhi understood that is not much use to society 
until one weds society to political action, and 
so do the people of all faiths who united in a 
Pre-RevCon Interfaith Convocation organized by 
leaders from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, 
Religions for Peace, the United Religions 
Initiative, Pax Christi, and other faith-based 
peace and justice organizations.

Buddhist, Shinto, Indigenous American, Muslim, 
and Christian spiritual leaders chanted, prayed 
and spoke in one voice how “war is contrary to the will of God.” See it here:

<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/by-topic/international/praying-for-an-end-to-nuclear-weapons/6263/>http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/by-topic/international/praying-for-an-end-to-nuclear-weapons/6263/ 


President Obama's National Day of Prayer 
PROCLAMATION called “for wisdom, compassion, and 
discernment of justice as we address the great 
challenges of our time. We are blessed to live in 
a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and 
free exercise of religion among its most 
fundamental principles
[and] let us remember in 
our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere 
who join us in the aspiration for a world that is 
just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.”[5]

"Prayer is also the struggle for human justice. 
It is the fight to remove killing stereotypes, to 
hurl back ignorance of prejudice, and to protect 
the holiness of creation. Prayer is the 
corporate, political act that serves to equalize 
opportunity so that privileged and 
underprivileged might have the same chance." [6]

Thomas Merton, 20 th century Trappist monk poet, 
social critic and mystic warned Christians that, 
“The duty of the Christian at this time is to do 
the one task God has imposed upon us in this 
world today. The task is to work for the total 
abolition of war. There can be no question that 
unless war is abolished; the world will remain 
constantly in a state of madness. The church 
[meaning all Christians] must lead the way on the 
road to the abolition of war. Peace is to be 
preached and nonviolence is to be explained and practiced."

In my series of interviews with the 
whistle-blower of Israel's WMD program, Mordechai Vanunu told me:

"The Israelis have 200 atomic weapons and they 
accuse the Palestinians and Muslims of terrorism. 
The Dimona is 46 years old; reactors last 25 to 
30 years. The Dimona has never been inspected and 
Israel has never signed the Nuclear Proliferation 
Treaty but all the Arab states have.

"Twenty years ago when I worked there they only 
produced when the air was blowing towards Jordan 
ten miles away. No one knows what is happening 
now. The world needs to wake up and see the real 
terrorism is the occupation and the Palestinians 
have lived under that terror regime for 40 years.

   "The only way to peace is peace; the only way 
is nonviolence. The only answer to Israeli 
nuclear weapons, their aggression, occupation and 
oppression, and the wall and refugee camps is to 
answer them with truth and a peaceful voice. When 
I became the spy for the world, I did it all for 
the people of the world. If governments do not 
report the truth, and if the media does not 
report the truth, then all we can do is follow 
our consciences. Daniel Ellsberg did, the woman from Enron did, and I did.

“The United States needs to wake up and see the 
truth that Israel is not a democracy, unless you 
are a Jew. Israel is the only country in the 
Middle East where America can right now find 
nuclear weapons
Israel is only a democracy if you are a Jew." [5]

American poet, peace activist, Catholic priest 
and at one time, one of the FBI's 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_Ten_Most_Wanted_Fugitives>Ten 
Most Wanted Fugitives , Daniel Berrigan 
understood that,“It may or may not be possible to 
turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. 
But one thing favors such an attempt: the total 
inability of violence to change anything for the better."

The times are always a' changing but the window 
of opportunity is only open for so long and as 
20th century Christian Anarchist, Dorothy Day 
cautioned: “No one has a right to sit down and 
feel helpless, there's too much to do.”

Do Something:


Send Vanunu a message of support through his 
website @ <http://vanunu.com/>http://vanunu.com/

Reach for nuclear disarmament @ 
<http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/>http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/

1. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3888254,00.html

2. 
<http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1517&Itemid=227>http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1517&Itemid=227 


3. 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i5d-sSbXuIVdDWk9SK3ZmJaOX26w 


4. <http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/>www.reachingcriticalwill.org

5. 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-national-day-prayer-0 


6. Bishop John Shelly Spong, "WHY CHRISTIANITY MUST CHANGE OR DIE" page 147.

7. 
<http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=660&Itemid=175>http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=660&Itemid=175 





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