A Bruxelles les 5 et 6 octobre 2010 devant des députés européens

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Dear Friends,

The Israeli organization “Breaking the Silence” (BTS) has been nominated for the Sakharov Prize by two political groups.

Breaking the Silence was created in June 2004 by recently discharged Israeli IDF ex-combatants.

The organization was founded on the conviction that every Israeli citizen must know what is being done in his/her name in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), and with a commitment to the correlative duty of soldiers to inform the public and decision makers about the reality that they have witnessed and in which they actively participated. More information about the organization can be found below.

Dana Golan and Gila Orkin, the directors of BTS will be in Brussels on the 5th and 6th of October 2010 in order to present their organisation and sensitize MEPs on the important role they play within the Israeli civil society.

We would like to gather a large support of European and local NGOs for this candidacy in a period where the bumps of the peace process are showing how much the Israeli and Palestinian public opinions are essential.

We are organising a meeting with our guests tomorrow Tuesday 5 October from 18.30-19.30, at Human Rights Watch, 7 av. des Gaulois, 1040 Brussels.

Sorry for the short notice!!!

It would be great if you could join us then.

Mrs Golan and Mrs Orkin’s visit is facilitated by CIDSE, the European network of Catholic development organisations and APRODEV, the network of Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox development organizations.

With kind regards.

Simone Susskind
Agnes Bertrand Sanz (APRODEV)
Deborah Casalin (Broederlijke Delen)

“Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran combatants who served in the Israeli military during the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the routine situations of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. The organization endeavors to stimulate public debate about the price paid for a reality in which young soldiers face a civilian population on a daily basis, and are engaged in the control of that population’s everyday life.

Soldiers who serve in the Territories witness and participate in military actions which change them immensely. Cases of abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property have been the norm for years, but are still excused as military necessities, or explained as extreme and unique cases. Our testimonies portray a different, and much grimmer picture. While this reality is known to Israeli soldiers and commanders, Israeli society continues to turn a blind eye, and to deny that which happens in its name. Discharged soldiers who return to civilian life discover the gap between the reality which they encountered in the Territories, and the silence which they encounter at home. In order to become civilians again, soldiers are forced to ignore what they have seen and done. Breaking the Silence voices the experiences of these soldiers, forcing Israeli society to address the reality which it has helped to create.

The organization collects and publishes testimonies from soldiers who have served in the West Bank and Gaza since September 2000, and also holds lectures, house meetings, and other public events which bring to light the reality in the Territories through the voice of former combatants. Breaking the Silence also conducts tours in Hebron and the South Hebron Hills region, all with the aim of allowing the Israeli public access to the reality which takes place in its own back yard, yet is rarely portrayed in the media”.