מהו מרי אזרחי?

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What is civil disobedience?

Civil Disobedience. Non-violent resistance with the willingness to pay a personal price. In order to fight against laws which undermine the state of Israel and it's character as a state of the Jewish people.

By MK Prof. Arieh Eldad

Jean Jacques Rousseau, one of the most important philosophers of the 18th century, helped lay the foundations of modern democracy. In his book "The Social Contract" he pointed out the danger of decisions taken by the majority for personal interests as opposed to the interest of society as a whole. He asserted that the decisions of the majority under these circumstances could be wrong and unjust.

Rousseau addressed a situation in which the decision of the majority is made in a lawful manner, understanding that a strong ruler can force his decision on the majority. Even in these circumstances the minority has the right to oppose the decision. How much more so when the ruler in question is corrupt, and the decision is taken by the government through overt bribery -- for example the wholesale appointment of new ministers and deputy ministers and the firing and threats against anyone who refuses to conform to his will. Under these circumstances, when the ruler is carrying out a policy completely opposite of what he promised during the elections, when he refuses to put his policies to the test of a referendum, when the government unilaterally violates the unwritten agreement between it and its citizens and tramples on the "social contract" the minority is left with no option to oppose the decision other than civil disobedience.

Henry David Thoreau, the American naturalist, refused to pay taxes to the government of the United States because he believed that it was forbidden to cooperate with a government in which slavery is legal. He also offered refuge to escaped slaves and helped them to flee to the North through the "Freedom Train," and in doing so directly violated the laws of the American government. In the year 1848 he delivered a lecture titled "Civil Disobedience" in which he laid the foundation of the theory for this type of action. Thoreau's work was an important factor in helping end slavery in America after the American civil war.

How do we know when the violation of a law is a crime and when it is within the realm of the rights of the citizens and perhaps even the obligation of every conscientious person? When the government uses its power against the principles for which democracy was instituted. In the special case of Israel, which is a Jewish and Democratic state, when the government undermines the Jewish nature of the state -- then it is permissible to violate the law with, of course, the willingness to pay the personal price which the violation of the law entails, including imprisonment. Imprisonment is in fact one of the means of the non-violent struggle within the framework of civil disobedience.

Non-violent civil disobedience -- just as the name implies. This is exactly the type of passive protest that was adopted by Mahatma Gandhi in India and Martin Luther King in the United States. They intentionally violated laws which were enacted lawfully but where unethical or racist, and they are today renowned for their acts of civil disobedience. The "disengagement" laws are racist laws directed against 8000 Jews, and they are unethical laws and anti-democratic to the extreme because they violate the basic human rights of those who are to be deported. And therefore there is a supreme moral obligation to violate them, in a non-violent way and with the willingness to pay a personal price -- imprisonment, for example. [bold] And again, it is emphasized: non-violent. In our struggle no one will raise their hand against a soldier or a police officer. The power of this civilian struggle lies in its passive nature. Masses of demonstrators will not take any violent actions against the representatives of the law even if the latter will use violence against them. We must not answer violence with violence. [/bold]

Many different actions can be thought of as non-violent civil disobedience: not paying taxes, the refusal to carry out orders which are related to the deportation, blocking roads, the closure of harbors and airports through strikes, taking days off from work in order to disrupt the mechanisms of government which will help carry out the deportation, drawing the police and army forces to different areas of the country through demonstrations and acts of protest in order to prevent their participation in the deportation of the settlers, all these -- and many more. If the labor unions can shut down the country over the firing of a few hundred workers -- it is our moral obligation to do the same over of the deportation of thousands from their homes and the destruction of their lives.

How can the government react to the these violations of the law? It can arrest and imprison those who violate the law, even for long periods of time. It is obvious that if a few dozen are imprisoned punishment will be leveled against them. They will lose their liberty and will have a blot on their personal history. But if thousands are arrested --perhaps tens of thousands -- then the onus of the punishment will be removed and having served time in jail for the land of Israel and the people of Israel will be a mark of honor. What will the government do with thousands of students that will be imprisoned along with their teachers and will continue with their studies behind bars? Will the government in the end cover the expenses of the education, accommodation, and the subsistence of these students? And what will the government do with the thousands of soldiers that will do what Ariel Sharon advised them to do, and will go to their commanders and tell them that they cannot deport their brothers? How many detention camps is the government ready to set up in order to enforce the "tyranny of the majority" which in reality is the tyranny of the minority which stole the votes of the electorate?

Non-violent civil disobedience is completely ethical and democratic. Blind obedience to every law, even if properly enacted, has already brought nations and governments into the darkest periods of history. In the absence of a referendum, the refusal to carry out unethical and racist laws and the disruption of these laws in non-violent ways is today the last hope of saving the state of Israel from itself.

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רשימת פעילויות אפשריות ( רשימה חלקית)

http://www.meri.org.il/reshima.html

Possible acts of protest.

Below is a list of actions which have been undertaken in western democracies in the framework of non-violent civil disobedience.

-not paying taxes
-returning identity documents
-returning mobilization orders
-blocking roads and other transport routes through marches, demonstrations and sit-down strikes
-the refusal to carry out or participate in the implementation of orders related to the deportation
-the closing down of ports and airports through mass sit-down strikes
-taking days off from work by all those opposed to the government's plan in order to disrupt the mechanisms of the government which are involved in the implementation of the deportation
-the dispersion of army and police forces to different parts of the country through demonstrations and acts of protest in order to prevent their involvement in the deportation
-the violation of orders which forbid entrance into the areas whose residents are to be deported