WAWA/WeAreWideAwake is my Public Service to America as a muckracker who has journeyed seven times to Israel Palestine since June 2005.
WAWA is dedicated to confronting media and governments that shield the whole
truth.
We who Are Wide
Awake are compelled by the "fierce urgency of Now" [Rev MLK, Jr.] to raise
awareness and promote the human dialogue about many of the crucial issues of our
day: the state of our Union and in protection of democracy, what life is like
under military occupation in Palestine, the Christian EXODUS from the Holy Land,
and spirituality-from a Theologically Liberated Christian Anarchist
POV.
"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils." George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796
"My aim is to agitate & disturb people. I'm not selling bread, I'm selling yeast." Unamuno
"Imagine All the People Sharing All the World." John Lennon
"If enough Christians followed the gospel, they could bring any state to its knees." Father Philip Francis Berrigan
"You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down." Tom Petty
"If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." Emma Goldman
"We have yet to begin to IMAGINE the power and potential of the Internet." Charlie Rose, 2005
Only in Solidarity do "We have it in our power to begin the world again" Tom Paine
"Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
"You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
DO SOMETHING!
Photo of George shown here and in web site banner courtesy of Debbie Hill, 2000.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence
HomeBlogJune 2010 June 17, 2010: Mordechai Vanunu, Mainstream Media, Wikipedia and a PS: To the Book Publishing World
June 17, 2010: Mordechai Vanunu, Mainstream Media, Wikipedia and a PS: To the Book Publishing World
June 17, 2010: Mordechai Vanunu, Mainstream Media, Wikipedia and a PS: To the Book Publishing World
Nine months ago I
heard Charlie Rose on his PBS show say: "We
have yet to begin to imagine the potential of the Internet."
I have been imagining the
potential to do something good on the Internet ever since.
What follows is what I emailed
to the following members of the Israeli Government, over 200 US mainstream media
outlets and published as a PRESS RELEASE on PRWEB:
Dear Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, Ehud Olmert, Acting Prime Minister, Tzipi Livni,
Minister of Justice, Gideon Ezra Minister of Internal Security, Menahem Mazuz,
Attorney-General, Ministry of Justice, Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit,
Judge Advocate General,
Jerusalem, Israel (PRWEB)
January 25, 2006 -- Today begins the trial of Mordechai Vanunu, a Christian in
Jerusalem fighting for the inalienable right to free speech and movement.
Five months ago over a
thousand journalists covered the drama in the Gaza. Not one explored the
building of more illegal settlements, OR the continuing land and water grab of
The Wall and its effects on the Palestinian economy OR interviewed Mordecahi
Vanunu, a Christian held captive in Jerusalem.
After enduring 18 years in jail for blowing the whistle on Israel's underground
WMD program in the Negev, Vanunu was released April 2004 under the draconian
restrictions of the Emergency Defense Regulations, which were implemented first
by Britain against Palestinians and Jews after World War II.
Vanunu, a Moroccan secular
Jewish atheist, was baptized a Christian just days before being kidnapped,
clubbed, drugged, bound and thrown onto an Israeli cargo ship leaving Rome for
home by the Mossad.
After a closed-door trial
and 18 years in jail he has lived in the guesthouse at St Georges Cathedral in
Jerusalem forbidden to leave Israel.
Israel claims they cannot
allow Vanunu to leave because he has a secret he has yet to tell. He has not
set foot in the Dimona for twenty years nor have any International Inspectors.
“Israel is the only State
that approved torture of detainees. I know there are dictators who use torture,
but Israel is the only State that supported torture until 1999. That is when
International, Israeli and Palestinian pressure groups forced the issue and
Barack was confronted about it when he visited the United States…The methods
and photos from Abu Grahib and Guantanamo were no shock to any Palestinian who
had been in prison between 1967 and the '80's. All the methods used in Abu
Grahib were normal procedures against Palestinians. In 1999 Internationals,
Palestinians and Israelis for human rights threatened a boycott against Israel
and that is what forced the Supreme Court to address the torture issue. They
did not ban torture and the General Prosecutor can choose not to prosecute
those who still use it.”- Ala Jaradat at the Ramallah Headquarters of ADAMEER to
me, January 5, 2006.
In Amy Goodman's 2004 interview
with Vanunu he stated, “From the beginning they put me in total isolation for
seven weeks after my kidnapping they even didn't admit I am in an Israeli
prison. They put me in total isolation. The first two years, they keep me in a
small room, filled with light 24 hours and camera inside. I couldn't sleep for
two years; they tried to break my nerves. I demanded to meet a priest. They
give me a priest, but without able to speak to him or him speak to me, only
through notes. ShinBet men sitting near the priest, reading the notes. I'm
sending him notes, they're reading them. We couldn't meet as a human being.
“Eleven and a half years I
was in total isolation alone in a cell...I wasn't allowed to use the phone...So
I use my simple brain, and my initiative. Like if they say I cannot speak to
anyone, I decided I can speak, I spoke by reading in a loud voice from the New
Testament in English.
“I want to leave Israel
after suffering seventeen and a half years in total isolation and very cruel,
barbaric treatment by the Mossad Shabac inside the prison. Also because Israeli
media damaged my image in all of Israel amongst the Jewish people, and some of
them hate me, some of them threatened my life when I was released. Some of them
are anti-Vanunu because I became a Christian, so I am not free and I am not
safe in Israel. And I am demanding to leave Israel to be free.
“It could only happen in a
free state, the United States or Europe…. I would like to move to the United
States. I have adopted parents in Minnesota."
USA taxpayers provide three
billion dollars a year to a democracy that ignores International Law and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
All roads lead to Jerusalem
and the war on terrorism will not be won until human beings do indeed have
inalienable human rights and a democracy in name is also one in fact.
The above was emailed to the following publications:
- The Baltimore Sun
- The Los Angeles Daily News
- The Sacramento Bee
- The Palm Beach Post
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- The Idaho News
- The Des Moines Register
- The Lexington Herald-Leader
- The Louisville Courier-Journal
- The Detroit Free Press
- The Detroit News
- The Buffalo News
- The Buffalo News
- Newsday
- The Charlotte Observer
- The Cleveland Plain Dealer
- The Register Guard
- The Austin American-Statesman
- The Dallas Morning News
- The Seattle Times
- The Chronicle Forum
- The Chicago Sun-Times
- Haaretz
- The Boston Globe
- The Miami Herald
- The Orlando Sentinel
- The Jordan Times
- The Pensacola News Journal
- The Record Journal
- The Record Journal
- The August Chronicle
- The News Sentinel
- The Kansas City Star
- The Portland Press Herald
- The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- The Charleston Daily Mail
- The Knoxville News
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- The Philadelphia Daily News
- The New York Times
- The San Francisco Chronicle
- The Los Angeles Times
- The Los Angeles Times
- The Los Angeles Times
- The Hartford Courant
- The Miami Herald
- The Orlando Sentinel
- The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
- The Santa Fe New Mexican
- The San Antonio Express-News
- The Sacramento Bee
- The Rocky Mountain News
- The Richmond Times-Dispatch
- The Record
- The Patriot-News
- The Oregonian
- The Oregonian
- The Orange County Register
- The Olympian
- The News-Times
- The News & Observer
- The New York Post
- The New Haven Register
- The Morning Call
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- The Long Beach Press-Telegram
- The Lexington Herald-Leader
- The Los Angeles Daily Journal
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal
- The Lansing State-Journal
- The Kennebec Journal
- The Kansas City Star
- The Journal Gazette
- The Jackson Clarion-Ledger
- The Indianapolis Star
- Indian Country Today
- The Idaho Statesman
- The Huntsville Times
- The Honolulu Advertiser
- The Home News Tribune
- The Greenwich Time
- The Florida Times-Union
- The Evansville Courier
- The Desert News
- The Denver Post
- The Dayton Daily News
- The Daily Record
- The Daily Oklahoman
- The Daily Deal
- The Courrier News
- The Courier Journal
- The Connecticut Post
- The Columbus Dispatch
- The Cincinnati Post
- The Cincinnati Enquirer
- The Chicago Tribune
- The Catholic Standard
- The Burlington Free Press
- The Birmingham Post-Herald
- The Birmingham News
- The Asbury Park Press
- The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- The Arizona Republic
- The Anchorage Daily News
- The Albuquerque Tribune
- The Albuquerque Journal
- The Akron Beacon Journal
- Salon.com
- Hindustan Times
- The Jerusalem Post
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Guardian
- The Independent
- The Dallas Morning News
- The Mercury News
- The Lansing State-Journal
- The Long Beach Press-Telegram
- The Los Angeles Times
- The Rocky Mountain News
- The Kansas City Star
- The Omaha World Herald
- The Arizona Republic
- The Buffalo News
- Salon.com
- The Birmingham News
- The Guardian
- The Cincinnati Post
- The Daily Deal
- Newsday
- The Christian Science Monitor
- The Portland Press Herald
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- The New York Times
- The Boston Herald
- The Albuquerque Journal
- The Greenwich Village Gazette
- The Moscow Times
- Darien News-Review
- The Day
- The Day
- The Chronicle
- Fairfield Citizen-News
- Delaware State News
- La Crosse Tribune
- Cullman Times
- The Janesville Gazette
- New Orleans Times-Picayune
- The New York Sun
- Statesman Journal
- The Providence Journal
- The Quad-City Times
- The Californian
- Iowa City Press-Citizen
- The Medina County Gazette
- The Southern Illinoisan
- The Pilot
- Avon Life
- The Columbian
- Rockford Register Star
- The Seattle Press
- The Journal Times
- The Andalusia Star-News
- Casper Star-Tribune
- The Guardian
- Axcess Business News
- The Japan Times
- The Newport Daily News
- The Delphos Herald
- Forsyth County News
- Cherokee Tribune
- The Forum
- The American Reporter
- Austin Daily Herald
- The Coloradoan
- Echo Press
- The Lincoln Journal Star
- The Jersey Journal
- The Honolulu Star-Bulletin
- The Greenville News
- The Frederick News-Post
- The Daily News
- The Contra Costa Times
- The Concord Daily Monitor
- The Columbia Missourian
- The Bucks County Courier Times
- The Bismarck Tribune
- The Baytown Sun
- Battle Creek Enquirer
- The Alaska Star
- The Daily Mountain Eagle
- Arkansas Times
- Arizona Daily Star
- The Durango Herald
- The Cape Gazette
- Hawaii -Tribune Herald
- The Herald Bulletin
- Bangor Daily News
- Douglas Budget
- Jackson Hole News & Guide
- The News-Record
- News Letter Journal
- The Common Denominator
- Hill Rag
- The Hill
- Roll Call
- Adirondack Daily Enterprise
- Afro Times
- The Saratogian
- The International Herald Tribune
- The Clarion-Ledger
- The Daily Press
- Bristol Herald Courier
- The Daily Progress
- Arlington Catholic Herald
- The Cavalier Daily
- Danville Register & Bee
- The Free Lance-Star
- Daily News-Record
- The News & Advance
- Manassas Journal Messenger
- Extra!
- The Free Press
- Project Censored
- The San Diego Union Tribune
- DC North and East of The River
Not
one bothered to reply.
And I must clarify that I was not a reporter when I met
Vanunu in June 2005, but I was writing my first book, KEEP HOPE ALIVE.Vanunu became a part of that story and he
also inspired me to do something with all that I learned during my first of
seven trips to Israel and occupied Palestine. On July 22, 2006, I established
my website and as of this writing over three million have visited it and my articles
have been spread all over the World Wide Web courtesy of many professional
editors.
In 2007, I also began updating Vanunu’s WIKIPEDIA page and
quickly learned to always return, as my entries were often deleted until I
linked them to other publishers than where they originated from at my site.
And
all was well until Israel sent Vanunu back to jail on 23 May 2010.I was kept occupied for over a week responding to over 100
Vanunu Google NEWS ALERTS, because the vast majority were based on erroneous
information as to why Vanunu was sent back to jail.
To clarify The Media’s errors and ‘sin’ of omissions, I
emailed the facts to them, but once again, not one of the Mainstream Media
outlets bothered to reply.
What I emailed the Mainstream Media News and many Ombudsmen:
Why Israel
Put Mordechai Vanunu Back In Jail
On 24 April 2004, which was three days after Mordechai Vanunu was released from
18 years in a windowless tomb sized cell jail for providing the photographic
proof and telling the truth about Israel's clandestine seven story underground
WMD Program in the Negev, Uri Avnery wrote:
"Everybody understands that he has no more secrets. What can a technician
know after 18 years in jail, during which technology has advanced with giant
steps?
"But gradually it becomes clear what the security establishment is really
afraid of. Vanunu is in a position to expose the close partnership with the
United States in the development of Israel's nuclear armaments.
"This worries Washington so much, that the man responsible in the State
Department for 'arms control', Under-Secretary John Bolton, has come to Israel
in person for the occasion. Vanunu, it appears, can cause severe damage to the
mighty super-power.
"The Americans, it seems, are very worried. The Israeli security services
have to dance to their tune. The world must be prevented by all available means
from hearing, from the lips of a credible witness, that the Americans are full
partners in Israel's nuclear arms program, while pretending to be the world's
sheriff for the prevention of nuclear proliferation." [1]
A brief history since then:
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 six-month
jail sentence for speaking with foreign media in 2004, to three months,
"In light of his ailing health and the absence of claims that his actions
put the country’s security in jeopardy."
After appealing that sentence, the Israeli Supreme Court returned Vanunu to
jail on May 23, 2010, after they refused his counter-offer to do three-months
of community service in Arab east Jerusalem, the only community he has known
since 21 April 2004. The Court insisted Vanunu must serve in west Jerusalem,
which is 99% Jewish-populated, but Vanunu feared attack there by angry
Israelis, most of whom consider him a traitor.
The restrictions that have subjected Vanunu to 24/7 surveillance [his
movements, phone calls and emails] for the last six years come from the
Emergency Defense Regulations, which were implemented by Britain against
Palestinians and Jews after World War II.
Attorney Yaccov Shapiro, who later became Israel's Minister Of Justice,
described the Emergency Defense Regulations as "unparalleled in any
civilized country: there were no such laws in Nazi Germany."
Israel also kidnapped Vanunu in 1986, but Article 9 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states: "No one shall he subjected
to arbitrary arrest or detention", including abduction of a person by
agents of one state to another state.
Vanunu was charged with and convicted of treason and espionage.
Section 99 of the Israeli Penal Code, treason is defined as "an act
calculated to assist (an enemy) in time of war...delivering information with
the intention that it fall into the hands of the enemy."
Section 113 defines aggravated espionage as "deliver(ing) any secret
information without being authorized to do so and with intent to impair the
security of the state" and a sub-clause provides for a penalty of seven
years for the unauthorized collection, preparation, recording or holding of
secret information; if this is done with intent to impair the security of the
state and then, the penalty is increased to 15 years.
During my interviews with Vanunu, he informed me that, "All the secrets I
had were published in 1989 in an important book, by Frank Barnaby, The
Invisible Bomb: Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East."
Frank Barnaby, the Nuclear Physicist, who was hired by the London Sunday Times
to interrogate Vanunu, testified at his closed door trial, "I very
vigorously cross-examined Vanunu, relentlessly asking the same questions in a
number of different ways and at different times...I found Vanunu very
straightforward about his motives for violating Israel's secrecy laws he explained
to me that he believed that both the Israeli and the world public had the right
to know about the information he passed on. He seemed to me to be acting
ideologically."
But, Vanunu was rendered defenseless during that closed door trial when the court
ruled that his motivations were not ideological and they refused to allow
Vanunu's own statements regarding his intentions to even be considered in his
defense.
On November 24th, 2006 Vanunu wrote:
"My lawyer succeeded to reveal a few very important facts: This General of
the Army also was not allowed to see all the secrets that he is required to
protect by these restrictions that they claim I know them. So, he gave orders
of restrictions without knowing what he is protecting or that he is also following
orders blindly, and Mossad Sheen Bet using its authority for just punishing me.
He testified that it is not a crime for me to talk with foreigners in general
anywhere. He testified that I can speak freely to any Israeli citizens about
anything; it is not his concern what I am saying to them. These Israelis can
give this information to any foreigners. It was difficult for the Judge to
understand why this dichotomy exits between foreigners and Israelis. It means
that it is not about secrecy but about something else." The "Something Else"
In 2004, Yossi Melman wrote for Haaretz:
"This is the secret that hasn't yet been told in the affair: the story of
the security fiasco that made it possible for Vanunu to do what he did, and the
story of the subsequent attempts at cover-up, whitewashing and protection of
senior figures in the defense establishment, who were bent on divesting
themselves of responsibility for the failure.
"The 18-year prison term to which Vanunu was sentenced is almost exactly
the same period as that in which Yehiel Horev has served as chief of internal
security in the defense establishment [who has been] involved in the affair as
deputy chief of security at the Defense Ministry, and also after Vanunu's
abduction and arrest, as a member of an investigative commission."
Melman described Horev as devoted to duty and bland, petty and acutely
suspiciousness, but also a man of personal integrity with a desire to expose
corruption and failures coupled with a penchant for vengefulness.
"The affairs of the secrets that leaked from the two places considered
Horev's holiest sites - the Biological Institute, which produced a senior spy
in the person of Prof. Marcus Klingberg, and the Dimona nuclear plant, about
which secret information was revealed through Mordechai Vanunu - were formative
events in the development of his world view. Shortly after taking office as
chief of security at the Defense Ministry, Horev began to take punitive
measures to hobble Vanunu. He is responsible for the harsh conditions in which
Vanunu was held, which included years in solitary confinement, and the sharp
limitations on the number of visitors he could have…[and has fought] a
rearguard battle to prevent Vanunu from leaving Israel and to place him under
supervision and restrictions that will be tantamount to house arrest. Horev has
always been considered the strictest of all the security chiefs in Israel,
especially in regard to the protection of institutions such as the Dimona
facility and the Biological Institute. He is apprehensive that if Vanunu goes
abroad, he will continue to be a nuisance by stimulating the public debate over
Israel's nuclear policy and the nuclear weapons he says Israel possesses…all
the hyperactivity being displayed by Horev and those who support his approach
is intended only to divert attention from what has not yet been revealed: the
security blunders and their cover-ups."
In 2003, BBC documentary Peter Hounam stated, “Vanunu told the world that
Israel had developed between one hundred and two hundred atomic bombs [in
1986!] and had gone on to develop neutron bombs and thermonuclear weapons.
Enough to destroy the entire Middle East and nobody has done anything about it
since.”
In 2005, Vanunu told me:
"President Kennedy tried to stop Israel from building atomic weapons.
Kennedy insisted on an open internal inspection.
"When Johnson became president, he made an agreement with Israel that two
senators would come every year to inspect. Before the senators would visit, the
Israelis would build a wall to block the underground elevators and stairways.
From 1963 to ’69, the senators came, but they never knew about the wall that
hid the rest of the Dimona from them.
"Nixon stopped the inspections and agreed to ignore the situation. As a
result, Israel increased production. In 1986, there were over two hundred
bombs. Today, they may have enough plutonium for ten bombs a year."
On March 26, 2006, Vanunu told me:
"Many journalists come here to the American Colony, from CNN and NY Times.
They all want to cover my story, but their EDITORS say no...CNN wants to
interview me; but they say they can't do it because they don't want problems
with the Israeli censor. BBC is doing the same thing.
"Sixty Minutes from the United States from the beginning they wanted to do
a program, but because of the censor situation they decide not to do it. Also
big media from Germany, France, Italy, Japan. None of them wants problems with
the Israelis."
I began the taping of “30 Minutes with Vanunu” with this question: "If the
British Mandate has expired why not the British Mandate's Emergency Defense
Regulations?"
Vaunu replied, "The reason given is security but it is because Israel is
not a democracy unless you are a Jew. 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."
The day before Vanunu returned to jail he emailed me:
From: Vanunu Mordechai J C.
To:[me]
Date: Sat, May 22, 2010 at 5:10 AM
Subject: SHAME ON YOU
SHAME ON YOU.
ISRAEL VERY STUPID SPIES.
MOSSAD SHABACK FOR PUTTING ME BACK IN PRISON AFTER 24 YEARS FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH.
SHAME ON YOU. ISRAEL MEDIA STUPID SPIES, HAAREZ EDIOT AHARONOT MAARIVE FOR SELF
DECEPTION.
SHAME ON YOU. ISRAEL DEMOCRACY, KNESET=BET KNESET=SINAGOUGS DEMOCRACY FOR NOT
LEARNING IN 2000 YEARS THAT THE BASIC RIGHT IN DEMOCRACY IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
SHAME ON YOU. ALL WORLD MEDIA BBC PPC CNN ABC CBS NBC FOX SKY HERALD TRIBUNE
NEW YORK TIMES AND ALL THE WORLD MEDIA NRK NHK STA WD ZDF 24 FRANCE ALZAJJIRA
SUNDAY TIMES FOR LET SUCH CASE HAPPENING AND NOT PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
SHAME ON YOU ALL THE ARABS STUPID SPIES FROM EGYPT TO DUBAI SAUDI,LEBANON.JORDAN
FOR LET ME GO BACK TO PRISON.
SHAME ON YOU. US SENATE CONGRESS WHITE HOUSE. UN IAEA MOHAMED ELBARADY FOR NOT
PROTECTING MY FREEDOM.
SHAME ON YOU ALL THE RELIGIOUS STUPID SPIES JEWS, CHRISTIAN, MUSLIMS, BIG SHAME
ON YOU FOR NOT BRINGING MY RELEASE IN 24 YEARS, RELIGION IS BIG BULLSHIT SHOW,
SHAME ON YOU.ALL THE WORLD STUPID SPIES CIA FBI MI5 MI6 AND ALL THE STUPID
SPIES OF EVERY STATE WHO WANT ME BACK IN PRISON YOU WILL NOT GET ANY THING FROM
ME.
FREEDOM AND ONLY FREEDOM WILL SURVIVE AND CONTINUE FOR EVER,
VMJC FREEDOM AND ONLY FREEDOM I NEED NOW.
VANUNU MORDECHAI John Crossman.
KIDNAPPED IN ROME SEP' 30 TH'-1986.
18 YEARS IN ISRAEL PRISON.OUT IN APR'-21-2004.
Waiting In East Jerusalem. To Be Free, To Leave.
I posted a link
to the above article on Vanunu’s WIKI page, and when it was deleted, I emailed
WIKI inquiring why and was informed:
“Wikipedia is governed by consensus, and no one
editor may have ultimate control over what is and is not included in an
article, including determination of the inclusion of links to articles outside
of Wikipedia. This includes editors who may be reporters, plumbers, governors,
senators, presidents, kings, emperors, or whatever other position of authority
outside Wikipedia they may hold.”
Another member of the WIKI team graciously
explained:
“Wikipedia's role is to be an encyclopedia, and not
a news source or analysis/opinion/commentary source. Most newspapers and
magazines combine those two roles to some degree. Wikipedia, as an
encyclopedia, isn't here for those purposes. We're here to be a reference
source of record…
“Wikipedia's role is to be an encyclopedia…It's
appropriate to bring your ongoing coverage of Mr. Vanunu to the attention of
those of us who sometimes edit the article to update and improve it. The most
appropriate way to do that would be to post links to print media publication of
your articles on him…”
On June 8, 2010, I replied to the WIKI team:
I very much appreciate your clarifications and thus,
I have more questions.
RE: Wikipedia's role is to be an encyclopedia
Doesn't that mean that reporting accurately as to WHY Vanunu was returned to jail should be
included?
As I have been following Vanunu's trial beginning from day one: 25 Jan. 2006 and
THE PRINT MEDIA has failed miserably in their 'coverage' as to WHY he went back
to jail for 3 months with errors and omissions, seems to me that setting the record straight
should be a part of an encyclopedia.
RE: The most appropriate way to do that would be to post links to print media
publication of your articles on him into the article's talk page and invite
other editors to review them for inclusion and update.
I have been contacting THE PRINT Media since 2006 TRYING to get them to REPORT
on Vanunu's case, even have contacted Ombudsmen-they never reply and as Vanunu
said, here is WHY:
On March 26, 2006, Vanunu told me:
"Many journalists come here to the American Colony, from CNN and NY Times.
They all want to cover my story, but their EDITORS say no...CNN wants to
interview me; but they say they can't do it because they don't want problems
with the Israeli censor. BBC is doing the same thing.
"Sixty Minutes from the United States from the beginning they wanted to do
a program, but because of the censor situation they decide not to do it. Also
big media from Germany, France, Italy, Japan. None of them wants problems with
the Israelis."
So, as The Print Media failed to do its job-I have stepped in.
Can you tell me what is wrong with linking to THIS article so as to set the
record straight, which is the purpose of encyclopedias, isn't it?
Why
Israel Put Mordechai Vanunu Back In Jail Last Month
As
I received no reply from my June 8 inquiry, I took it as a GO ahead and on June
12, 2010 I posted under “Imprisonment” on Vanunu’s WIKI page:
On 22 May 2010, Mordechai Vanunu wrote
why he was to return to prison on 23 May 2010 for a three-month sentence.
The link lead to the Salem-News.com
article, but, once again the link disappeared, although
“Salem-News.com is also the first exclusively Web news organization in the
world. Not a blog, but a full service multimedia news site staffed by
award-winning professional journalists and a wealth of diverse writers from all
over the U.S. and also in places like Canada, Vietnam and Mexico.
Salem-News.com was created as a present and future answer for the needs of a
wide range of news consumers in Oregon, across the nation and around the world.”
On Vanunu’s WIKI Talk page a WIKI volunteer editor
who “may be a reporter, plumber, governor, senator, president, king, emperor,
or whatever” informed me
[BOLD is mine]
Dear Eileen, I understand that you
have a great deal of insight into the matter of Mordechai Vanunu, more than myself and
many other Wikipedia contributors. But it is not acceptable to publish your own
material on other sites and then push it as a valid source. Vanunu's situation is
a high profile case and well-established facts should be mentioned by several
other independent sources. Please consider replying to the criticism and
comments on this talk page, as it stands right now you are either unaware of
our efforts to inform you regarding Wikipedia policy or simply ignoring our
efforts. Surely you realize that you have more to gain from complying than
trying to work against the project. Let's give Vanunu and our readers what they
deserve, a factual, encyclopedic and well-written article regarding his life
and actions. -03:40, 14 June 2010 (UTC)
I have no desire to engage in a battle over this
with any “reporter, plumber, governor, senator, president, king, emperor, or
whatever” but I am in solidarity with giving Vanunu and all readers factual,
encyclopedic and well written material regarding his life and actions, and so
here is the:
PS to the Book Publishing World:
I began a
series of interviews with Mordechai Vanunu, the whistle-blower of Israel's WMD
Program in 2005 and have met with him on all seven of my trips to Israel
Palestine.
BEYOND
NUCLEAR: Some of my Experiences of Mordechai Vanunu and the Holy Land:
2005-2010 is about history, current events, religion
and spirituality, politics and international affairs.
BEYOND
NUCLEAR: Some of my Experiences of Mordechai Vanunu and the Holy Land:
2005-2010 is 69,000 words, contains a few of my
photos and this postcard from Vanunu ‘exposing’ his sense of humor:
BEYOND NUCLEAR chronicles the whistle
blower of Israel’s WMD Programs largely unreported freedom of speech trial [and
appeals], which began January 25, 2006 and ends with his last email to me on 22
May 2010, the day before Israel sent him back to jail for three months;
essentially for speaking to foreign media in 2004.
BEYOND NUCLEAR also connects Vanunu’s
trials to Israel’s currently hotly debated Kamm-Blau Affair regarding acts of
individual conscience and freedom of the press vis-à-vis government policies,
secret police operations and judicial decisions.
BEYOND NUCLEAR is also the story of my
spiritual journey that led me to become a political activist inspired by my
experiences with Anarchists Against the Wall/AATW, Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions/ICAHD and Sabeel.
AATW is a direct action group that was established in 2003 in response to the
route of the wall Israel has been building on Palestinian land in the West
Bank. The group is a collaborative cooperation between Palestinians, Israelis
and internationals that have united to struggle against the occupation with
nonviolent demonstrations and actions.
ICAHD is a non-profit organization that nonviolently resists the occupation of
Palestine by rebuilding the homes Israel has destroyed and was co-founded by
American Israeli, Professor Jeff Halper.
Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement founded in
Jerusalem and globally supported. Sabeel is based on the teaching of Jesus
Christ and rooted in a spirituality based in love, justice, peace, nonviolence,
liberation that will lead to reconciliation when informed by truth and
empowered by prayer in action.
BEYOND NUCLEAR also takes the reader to my meeting with underground Fatah in
Jenin camp, to a tear-gassing from Israeli forces in the West Bank agricultural
village of Billin and a few strip searches at Ben Gurion Airport.
BEYOND NUCLEAR tells the story of my
spiritual journey as a child of the ‘60’s whose muses and inspirations include
Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and John Lennon.
BEYOND NUCLEAR was written as a matter
of my destiny for I became a muckraker three weeks after my first of seven
trips to Israel Palestine in June 2005, when I established http://wearewideawake.org/.
Eileen Fleming, Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13
Minutes with Vanunu"
Founder of WeAreWideAwake.org
Staff Member of Salem-news.com
A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com and Dandelionsalad.wordpress.com
Author of "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish
American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory" http://www.youtube.com/user/eileenfleming
On 18
June 2010:
Amnesty
International has accused the Israeli authorities of
subjecting jailed nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu to cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment by holding him in solitary confinement.
The 56-year-old, who spent 18 years in prison for revealing details of
the
country's nuclear arsenal to a UK newspaper in 1986, was sent back to
jail for
three months on 23 May on charges of contact with a foreign national,
and
almost immediately placed in solitary confinement.
Amnesty International has called for his immediate and unconditional
release.
"Mordechai Vanunu should not be in prison at all, let alone be held in
solitary confinement in a unit intended for violent criminals," said
Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East
Programme.
"He suffered immensely when he was held in solitary confinement for 11
years after his imprisonment in 1986 and to return him to such
conditions now
is nothing less than cruel, inhuman or degrading."
Vanunu is held in Ayalon Prison in central Israel. His lawyer revealed
to
Amnesty International that he has been placed in an isolated cell,
ostensibly
to protect him from other prisoners.
For years, Vanunu has been portrayed by some Israeli media and
politicians as a
traitor and an enemy of the state for disclosing Israeli efforts to
develop
nuclear weapons, and he says he has received death threats.
"Mordechai Vanunu is a prisoner of conscience. The prison authorities
might claim that he has been put in isolation to protect him from the
risk of
attack by other inmates, but if the Israeli government is really
concerned for
his safety it should release him without delay," said Malcolm Smart.
"His re-imprisonment is both harsh and unjustified."
Vanunu, a former technician at Israel's nuclear plant near the southern
town of
Dimona, revealed details of the country's nuclear arsenal to UK
newspaper The
Sunday Times.
Subsequently, he was abducted by Mossad agents in Italy on 30 September
1986
and secretly taken to Israel, where he was tried and sentenced to a
prison term
of 18 years, the first 11 years of which he spent in solitary
confinement.
Since his release in 2004, the Israeli authorities have subjected Vanunu
to
police supervision under the terms of a draconian military order, which
is
renewed every six months.
According to the order, he is banned from communicating with foreigners,
including journalists. He cannot leave the country and is forbidden from
approaching foreign embassies. He must also inform the authorities if he
wishes
to change his address.
"The restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu arbitrarily limit his rights to
freedom of movement, expression and association and are therefore in
breach of
international law. They should be lifted and he should be allowed to
start his
life again as a free man," said Malcolm Smart.
Mordechai Vanunu's brother, Meir Vanunu, told Amnesty International on
17 June:
"It is very traumatic for Mordechai to be put again in solitary
confinement and subjected to harassment. These are the same conditions
he was
kept under previously for 18 years and there is no justification for it
after
24 years of suffering.
"We fear for the impact this will have on his health. Now is the time
for
Mordechai's true freedom – he should be allowed to travel and leave
Israel. He
should never have been put in this situation in the first place."
The harsh conditions of the dangerous criminals unit in Ayalon Prison
mean
Vanunu can only leave his cell for one hour every day to walk in the
prison
courtyard.
He cannot currently make telephone calls from the prison unless he
submits
information about the person he wishes to call to the prison authorities
–
something he refuses to do on principle. As a result, he has had no
contact
with friends or family since the beginning of his current imprisonment.
His lawyer Michael Sfard was able to visit him and told Amnesty
International:
"Mordechai Vanunu is suffering from isolation. He should not be made to
pay a price because of the enmity of others towards him."
PSS:
From The Sunday Times
Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran
By Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv May 30, 2010
Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear
cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.
The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that
ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and
military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air
bases and missile launchers.
The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan
— have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a
permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”,
told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating
deep and far, very far, from our borders.”
Each of the submarines has a crew of 35 to 50, commanded by
a colonel capable of launching a nuclear cruise missile.
The vessels can remain at sea for about 50 days and stay
submerged up to 1,150ft below the surface for at least a week. Some of the
cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the
Israeli arsenal.
The deployment is designed to act as a deterrent, gather
intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. “We’re a solid base for
collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place,”
said a flotilla officer.
The submarines could be used if Iran continues its programme
to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise
missiles can reach any target in Iran,” said a navy officer.
Apparently responding to the Israeli activity, an Iranian
admiral said: “Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will
receive a forceful response from us.”
Israel’s urgent need to deter the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah
alliance was demonstrated last month. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was
said to have shown President Barack Obama classified satellite images of a
convoy of ballistic missiles leaving Syria on the way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, will emphasise the
danger to Obama in Washington this week.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and defence centre, remains the
most threatened city in the world, said one expert. “There are more missiles
per square foot targeting Tel Aviv than any other city,” he said.
"HOPE has two children.The first is ANGER at the way things are. The second is COURAGE to DO SOMETHING about it."-St. Augustine
"He who is not angry when there is just cause for anger is immoral. Why? Because anger looks to the good of justice. And if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust." - Aquinas
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.
" In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."-Mother Teresa
“You cannot talk like sane men around a peace table while the atomic bomb itself is ticking beneath it. Do not treat the atomic bomb as a weapon of offense; do not treat it as an instrument of the police. Treat the bomb for what it is: the visible insanity of a civilization that has ceased...to obey the laws of life.”- Lewis Mumford, 1946
The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership....a leadership of intellect, judgment, tolerance and rationality, a leadership committed to human values, to world peace, and to the improvement of the human condition. The attributes upon which we must draw are the human attributes of compassion and common sense, of intellect and creative imagination, and of empathy and understanding between cultures." - William Fulbright
“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - Rev. MLK
Establishment of Israel
"On 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." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the Establishment of Israel