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Mordechai Vanunu grew up in an Orthodox
Jewish home but abandoned the faith by his mid teens. He became
interested in the existentialist writers and was an atheist for
nearly two decades before he converted to Christianity. He was
baptized just weeks before he was kidnapped by the Mossad, endured
a closed door trial and then spent the next 18 years in jail-most
of it in solitary for telling the world the truth: that Israel had
gone nuclear.
Although 'freed' in April 2004, he is
forbidden to leave Israel, forbidden to speak to media and to
foreigners under the draconian restrictions of the Emergency
Defense Regulations which were implemented first by Britain against
Palestinians and Jews after World War II.
After WW II, Attorney Yaccov Shapiro, who
later became Israel's Minister Of Justice, described the Emergency
Defense Regulations which denies Vanunu the inalienable rights of
freedom of speech and movement as "unparalleled in any civilized
country: there were no such laws in Nazi Germany."[N.S. Ateek,
Justice and Only Justice p.34]
On May 14, 1948 The Declaration of the
establishment of Israel affirmed: "One the day of the termination
of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations
General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on
freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel:
it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to
all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee
freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the
Charter of the United Nations."
In the spirit of Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights -which Israel agreed to
uphold and was contingent upon its statehood-Vanunu does speak to
media and foreigners, and could very well face more jail time for
doing so.
In my March 2006 interview with the
Whistleblower he stated, "This administration tells me I am not
allowed to speak to foreigners, the Media, and the world. But I do
because that is how I prove my true humanity to the world. My
freedom of speech trial began January 25, 2006 for speaking to the
media, the same day as the Palestinian elections" and only three
journalists were present to cover this historic case which resumes
October 30, 2006.
Just before my first journey to Israel and
Palestine in June 2005, a Palestinian American warned me, "Don't
visit Vanunu, if you see him, and don't speak to him. He's not
allowed to speak to foreigners and you could cause him
trouble."
I responded, "OK, I won't track him down,
but Jerusalem is a small town and if our paths cross, I will speak
to him. What kind of government is that, that will tell a human
being who they can and cannot talk with?"
I did not cross paths with Vanunu until
the third Tuesday in June which was five days before I returned to
the USA. I had spent a most horrific day in Hebron-the most painful
experience in my life. Hebron is where 450 Israeli settlers are
protected by 3,000 IDF. Above the narrow winding stoned streets a
thick deeply sagging netting is strung for protection from all the
huge rocks, shovels, electronic equipment, furniture and all manner
of debris that have been flung onto it by the settlers in hopes it
will give way and hit any Palestinian who is passing underneath
it.
Many of the formerly Palestinian homes in
Hebron have graffiti such as "GAS THE ARABS" and Stars of David
painted upon them. I felt like I had entered into every movie set
and photograph I had ever seen of the ghettos during World War
II.
When I returned to my room at the
Ambassador Hotel that afternoon I had no intention of going back
out. But the second I got out of the shower, the phone rang and it
was Tony from Ramallah, [an Internet connection] who happened to be
in Jerusalem that day seeing a Doctor. Tony invited me to dinner
and we walked towards the Old City in search of a restaurant. On
our way was St. George Cathedral where Vanunu had been living, and
we stopped in hoping to invite him along. As we entered the
courtyard, Vanunu was leaving for a meeting. I imagine if we had
arrived a few minutes later we would have missed him completely and
I most likely would never have crossed paths with the Whistleblower
of Israel's WMD Program.
But, that chance meeting led to my
opportunity to spend a few hours with Vanunu over the next few
days. I was curious as to what kind of a kid he had been and why he
became a Christian. What I learned is in Chapter 11 of Keep Hope
Alive.
It is remarkable, perhaps even miraculous,
that Vanunu is not crazy from being locked up in solitary for most
of the 18 years he spent in jail and the frustrations of the past 2
½ years of restrictions against him that keep him captive in
Jerusalem.
What Vanunu told me in June about his time
in jail was, "The Shen Beet, you know like the FBI and the Mossad,
like your CIA were watching me. They tortured me by keeping a light
on in my cell constantly for 2 years. They told me it was because
they were afraid I would commit suicide, and the oppressive camera
was for my safety. They recruited the guards and other prisoners to
irritate me. They would deprive me of sleep by making loud noises
near my cell all night long.
"I chose to read them 1 Corinthians 13:
4-8 instead; Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with THE TRUTH!
It always protects, it always trusts, always hopes, and always
perseveres. Love never fails.
"For the first five years I was in prison
every day, twice a day I would loudly pray by reading Bible verses.
I would also read the Anglican service from the Book of Common
Prayer. I did it twice a day, every day for five years. I began to
see I had become like a machine. I knew if I continued I would lose
my mind. So after that I only prayed in silence. Although I knew I
was driving them nuts with my loud praying, it was driving me nuts
too. I changed my routine. I began reading more books about health,
nutrition, history, philosophy, literature and kept my prayer life
quiet."
I asked Vanunu, "When you were baptized in
Sydney just a few months before you were abducted and tried, you
took the name John Crossman. Was that because of St. John of the
Cross and his The Dark Night of The Soul?"
Vanunu replied, "I haven't read him."
Not many have and he is not an easy read.
John of the Cross was a Spanish poet and mystic who wrote about the
contemplative life and Divine union of the soul with God in this
life. He was an ardent disciple of Theresa of Avilla's reforms
which greatly antagonized and agitated the church hierarchy during
the time of the Spanish Inquisition. John of the Cross received a
great deal of abuse for his thoughts and he spent much of his of
time in prison writing.
Vanunu will return to Israeli Supreme
Court on October 30, 2006, to find out if the restrictions against
him will continue or if he will go back to jail for exercising the
inalienable right to free speech. His historic FREEDOM OF SPEECH
trial in a Mid East democracy began January 25, 2006 masterfully
obfuscated by the Palestinian elections held on the same day.
In my March 2006 interview with the
whistleblower we discussed the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and how Vanunu has been denied them.
Article 1 of The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights upholds that: All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in the spirit of
brotherhood.
Vanunu responded, "When I decided to
expose Israel's nuclear weapons I acted out of conscience and to
warn the world to prevent a nuclear holocaust. The Israeli media
demonized me, they published many lies about me and Israel kept me
totally isolated in prison for most of the 18 years. I am also
regarded as a traitor because I was baptized a Christian."
Article 18 of the UDHR affirms that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion. This right includes freedom to change one's
religion.
Vanunu has consistently affirmed, "My
Christian conversion was also considered as treason and led to me
receiving more time in jail than any murderer has ever served. The
Israelis have this very beautiful article about freedom and liberty
but they want to destroy anyone who criticizes them for revealing
the truth to the world. The world must look and see what kind of
democracy Israel is when one speaks out the truth."
Article 13 of the UDHR upholds that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement. Vanunu and millions
of Palestinians have been denied this inalienable right under the
draconian British Emergency Mandate Regulations and the concrete
wall/electrified fence that has been repeatedly deemed illegal by
the International Court of Justice for it does not follow the Green
Line and divides Palestinians from their land, water and
families.
Vanunu stated, "It's very sad that Hilary
Clinton went to the Jewish Wailing Wall and forgot the real crying
wall is the Palestinian wall: the apartheid wall. The Wall is not
for defense, but to keep this conflict permanent.The people who
need the help are the Palestinian Christians. We need all
Christians to come and see the true facts on the ground.
"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 Israelis have 200 atomic weapons and
they accuse the Palestinians and Muslims of terrorism. 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.
"Israel propaganda portrays all
Palestinians as Muslim extremists and Hamas terrorists and neglect
that Palestinian Christians are following the true message of Jesus
Christ with nonviolent resistance. We need all Christians to come
and see the truth for themselves. Israel is only a democracy if you
are a Jew."
This reporter returns to Jerusalem in
November 2006 to be a member of Sabeel's 6th International
Conference: The Forgotten Faithful/Palestinian Christians and
Reality Tour through the West Bank.
About the Author
Eileen is a retired RN, activist, author,
poet, reporter and editor for the WAWA Blog:
http://www.wearewideawake.org She returns to the West Bank in
November 2006 and will be reporting on WAWA.
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