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Machsom Watch

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Palmiro (talk | contribs) at 18:22, 11 March 2006 (balance intro: add positive as well as negative reactions to group, though I still would prefer purely descriptive intro). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Machsom Watch is a human rights organization composed exclusively of Israeli women. The word machsom is Hebrew for "checkpoint", in reference to Israel Defense Forces checkpoints in the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel. The group also calls itself "Women for Human Rights".

The group's stated aims, according to its website, are to:

  • monitor the behavior of soldiers and police at checkpoints;
  • ensure that the human and civil rights of Palestinians attempting to enter Israel are protected;
  • record and report the results of their observations to the widest possible audience, from the decision-making level to that of the general public.[1]

Some members of the group see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints.[2] [3]

Machsom Watch has been criticized by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and by several non-governmental organizations and individuals for allegedly disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility toward the soldiers, and making false accusations against them. [1] [2] However, the IDF also claims to have listened to the group's contentions regarding the checkpoints and implemented training procedures to ensure respectful behaviour by soldiers. The group has been awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel for its work.

History

Machsom Watch was founded in 2001 by Ronnee Jaeger, Adi Kuntsman, and Yehudit Keshet in response to concerns about reports of human rights abuses against Palestinians at IDF and border police checkpoints. The group has also expressed concern about what they say is "the excessive Israeli response to the Al Aqsa Intifada, the prolonged closure and siege of villages and towns on the West Bank".[4]

At the beginning of 2004, the group claimed approximately 400 members. Early on, Machsom Watch had some male monitors, but men turned out to show solidarity with the soldiers. According to Keshet, "Their relationship [with the soldiers] was totally different. They were horrified by what was going on, but at the same time they bonded with the troops."[5]

Ronnee Jaeger is an activist who was previously a human-rights worker in Guatemala and Mexico. Adi Kuntsman is a feminist originally from the Soviet Union, who arrived in Israel in 1990. Yehudit Keshet was an Orthodox Jew and scholar of Talmudic ethics, although she has abandoned Orthodoxy.[6]

In March 2004, Machsom Watch received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award. This annual prize is given by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel "to an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel".[citation needed]

Reactions from the IDF and others

The Israeli army claims that it has listened to Machsom Watch and is 'implementing training programmes to enable soldiers to carry out their work in the "most moral and respectful way possible"'.[7]

Dore Gold's organisation NGO Monitor,[8] has accused the group of "using emotive and politically charged language that contributes to the demonization of Israel."[9] During a two-hour meeting with members of the group in March 2006, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told the women that: "Humanitarianism is not exclusively owned by Machsom Watch and it is tested not only at the checkpoints, but also in preventing suicide bombers from reaching the markets of Tel Aviv and Netanya."[10]

In December, 2005 the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Israel found that 'The goals of the group are to monitor the behaviour of soldiers, to ensure that the human rights of Palestinians attempting to enter Israel are protected, and to report back. It can thus be said that, today, there is much less physical violence than before, but verbal and behavioural violence has increased'.[11]

Accusations of bias and the "violin incident"

The group has often been accused by non-governmental organizations, individual soldiers and soldiers mothers[12] of hurling derogatory comments and curses at soldiers.[13] According to Yossi Olmert, a political commentator, Machsom Watch volunteers "disrupt the work of soldiers at checkpoints who are trying, not always successfully, to prevent the entry of terrorists."[14]

Several organizations in Israel demanded that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) remove the women from checkpoints.[citation needed] Soldiers have protested against an invitation extended by the IDF to Machsom Watch to speak at an army base, seeing the invitation as inappropriate mixing of politics into the military service.[15]

Late in 2004, Machsom Watch was accused of falsely claiming that the IDF forced a Palestinian violinist to play his violin at a checkpoint, a story which was printed worldwide. While originally the IDF said the soldier had acted insensitively, the IDF's commission on the issue, citing the testimonies of several soldiers and members of Machsom Watch, and after reviewing the videotape of the incident, concluded that the violinist had played voluntarily. The Palestinian in question claimed that he had been "asked" to play a sad song.[16]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  2. ^ 'Watch' (in Hebrew), accessed 11 March, 2006.
  3. ^ 'Many Mothers' by Sima Kadmon, Yedioth Ahronoth, 21 November, 2003, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  4. ^ Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  5. ^ Hammer, Joshua 'Grandmothers on Guard', Mother Jones, November/December, 2004, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  6. ^ Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  7. ^ Haughey, Nuala 'Israeli checkpoint monitors decry their army's abuse of Palestinians', Irish Times, 11 June, 2005, p. 11.
  8. ^ NGO monitor website, Who are We, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  9. ^ NGO Monitor website, Infofile, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  10. ^ Harel, Amos 'IDF chief invites anti-fence protesters to Tel Aviv meeting', 5 March, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  11. ^ European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Israel, Report by Ms Jana Hybášková, Chairwoman of the Delegation, for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, December 2005, p. 19.
  12. ^ Weiss, Efrat Leftist group stirs IDF row, YNet News, 22 February, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  13. ^ "נשות 'מחסום ווטש' השוו חיילים לנאצים", MSN News, 24 January, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  14. ^ Stannard, Matthew B. 'A Time Of Change: Israelis, Palestinians And The Disengagement: At Checkpoints, A Gentle Advocate For Palestinians', San Francisco Chronicle, 2 August, 2005, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  15. ^ HaLevi, Ezra 'Mothers of Soldiers Protest IDF´s Embrace of Machsom Watch', Arutz Sheva, 23 February, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  16. ^ Rabinowitz, Gavin 'Military denies Palestinian forced to play violin to pass roadblock', Associated Press, 30 November, 2004, accessed 11 March, 2006.

Bibliography

  • Deutsch-Nadir, Sharon (2005). Capitalizing on Women’s Traditional Roles in Israeli Peace Activism: A Comparison Between Women In Black and Checkpoint Watch, Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy Thesis, The Fletcher School, Tufts University.
  • Kimmerling, Baruch (2003). Politicide: Ariel Sharon's War Against the Palestinians. Verso. ISBN 1859845177
  • Nirgad, Lia, "Winter in Qualandia - Eine Strassensperre zwischen Jerusalem und Ramallah", Melzer Verlag Neu-Isenburg 2005, ISBN 3-937389-57-1 (German translation of Hebrew original, Xargol Books/Israel) [A Machsom Watch woman reports on her experiences at the Qualandia-checkpoint and others]
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