On September 6, 2006, Mordechai Vanunu, a Christian convert from Judaism, was once more inside of the Israeli Supreme Court. He returned this time, regarding an appeal against the renewing of the restrictions against him which have forbidden him to leave Israel and to speak to media or foreigners, ever since he was released from 18 years in jail on April 21, 2004.

The restrictions have been imposed in the name of Security, for the Israeli government has maintained Vanunu could still have a secret he has not yet told about the underground nuclear weapons facility in the Dimona. Vanunu has not been there in 20 years, and International Inspectors never have.

Vanunu's brother Meir wrote:

Today, the 6th of September in the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, the appeal of Mordechai Vanunu against the restrictions imposed on him by the Israeli Government,[represented by Attorney] Avigdor Feldman , argued that in all the interviews Mordechai gave to the international media since his release, in April 2004, two and half years ago, there was no new secrets
revealed and nothing he said was endangering the security of the state-and now after two and a half years and in light of the fact that Mordechai did not breach the restrictions for eight months, Feldman argued, the court should consider the ending of the restrictions-the ban on Mordechai to leave the country, is a serious breach of his fundamental constitutional human rights.

The attorney for the State came to the court with secret expert witnesses, from the Secret Services and from the secret Israeli Nuclear Committee, to give the three judges a testimony behind closed doors, without Mordechai and his lawyers present, as they have done in the previous discussions in the Supreme Court. Their aim would be to convince the court that Vanunu still has more information to reveal and he is a serious danger to the security of the state. The President of the Supreme Court Dorit Beinish, said that there is no need to hear these secret testimonies as their position was well accepted by the previous bench of the court and it was accepted on this bench too.

The attorney for the state disputed Feldman's statements, that Vanunu is still a danger to the State Security, that he has more unpublished information and he wants to make it public. He also said that it is not true that Vanunu did not breach the restrictions in the past eight months and that he has material on that but he wants it to be heard in closed doors."

When Israel became a state in 1948, it was contingent upon upholding The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, Article 11 affirms:
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a PUBLIC trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.

On 9/30/86, Mordechai Vanunu was kidnapped by the Mossad and after a closed door trial without media ever being present, Vanunu was sentenced on 3/27/88 to eighteen years in jail, most of it in solitary. Vanunu was charged with treason because he broke down the wall that proved Israel had gone nuclear when he shared photos and his story with the London Sunday Times in 1986.

Released from Ashkelon Prison on 4/21/04, Vanunu has lived under the draconian restrictions of the British Emergency Defense Regulations that forbid him to leave Israel, to speak to media or foreigners. He is currently on trial for the interviews he gave the media after his release in 2004.

The media has been a no show for his current trials, but Vanunu exercises his inalienable right to free speech via emails, phone and through his website

Vanunu's actions uphold Article 19 of The UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Lennon Connection:

On 9/18/04 in London, Yoko Ono awarded Mordechai Vanunu a peace prize founded in memory of and in the spirit of John Lennon's "Give Me Some Truth" released in 1971. The award is given biennially, and was instituted in 2002, when Israeli Zvi Goldstein and Palestinian Khalil Rabah each won for artistic contributions to peace in their homeland.

In 2004, Yoko Ono also awarded $50,000 to New Yorker magazine correspondent and author Seymour Hersh, whom she described as "a staunch seeker of truth" for his investigative journalism.

In 2004, Ono was quoted by Reuters that Hirsh and Vanunu were honored as "people who have spoken out for the benefit of the human race by overcoming extreme personal difficulties and, in doing so, have allowed the truth to prevail...Hopefully [Vanunu] can come and receive the award himself. He did complete his sentence, it's not as though he's a criminal...the point is that it's another statement, a statement that the whole world can share and think about...People power is stronger than the power of institutions."

Long time friend and supporter of Vanunu, the Anglican Father Dave from Sydney, Australia wrote in 2004:
"Good news and not-so-good news this month regarding our brother Morde Vanunu.
The good news: Morde has been awarded a Yoko Ono Peace Prize...The not-so-good news is that Morde seems to be flouting the ban placed upon him, preventing him from communicating with foreign media...The danger is that the Israeli authorities will re-arrest Morde for making contact with foreign media. Having spoken to Morde though, he is confident, and is sick of being told who he is not allowed to talk to. Indeed, he has asked me whether I will set up a community web cast for him, where he can talk to you, his online supporters, via webcam. He has asked me to organize this for his birthday, October 13."

That web cast still has not happened and Fr.Dave's words proved accuarate, as Vanunu is now on trial for speaking to the media in 2004 and that trial resumes on October 30, 2006.

Vanunu is a hero to Palestinians and many Internationals, but he is surrounded by many who despise him as a traitor.

Vanunu has consistently maintained that he spoke out twenty years ago and continues to do so under threat of more jail time, because he only wants to save Israel from a "New Holocaust."

Israel claims that they must detain Vanunu for security reasons, but they have failed to secure the safety of the citizens that work and live near the leaking dinosaur that is the Dimona.

In a March 2006 interview with this reporter, Vanunu stated, "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 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."

In June 2005, he informed this reporter, "The only way to peace is peace; the only way is non-violence. The only answer to Israeli nuclear weapons, their aggression, occupation and oppression, the wall and refugee camps is to answer them with truth and a peace-full 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, if media does not report the truth, all we can do is follow our conscience... 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 WMD's. America can also find where basic human rights have been denied Christians, right here in Israel."

In Ray Coleman's biography of John Lennon, he quotes the artist circa 1969, "I'd like to be like Christ, [he described himself as a Christian communist] in a pure sense, not in the way Russia or Italy think of Christianity or communism...Every body's uptight [fearful] and they're always building these walls around themselves. All you can do is try to break down the walls and show them that there's nothing there but people... I only know that peace can exist, and the first thing is for the world to disarm...I think I'll win because I believe in what Jesus said."

So does Vanunu and he has always insisted, "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."

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change one's religion.-Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Vanunu's historic freedom of speech case continues on October 30, 2006. Love him, or loathe him, one thing remains certain: Vanunu will continue to give us some truth, if we have ears to hear him.

Print

Tell friend

Top

---