Bad news, the police come to the American Colony to arrest me. I was meeting a young German girl who wanted to know more about my story. They took us to the police questioning me [and held] me until midnight 24:00. Not so impressive all this again arrest. I think the police was waiting for my arrest in Bethlehem…Any way life will continue as I am doing all the Time.
vmjc
On Dec. 27, 2007 Vanunu wrote:
They were very harsh to the young German girl, they were questioning here like by the KGB, or Stasi, she was in a separate room. She was still there after I left at 24:00. I did not go to Bethlehem, because I knew they were waiting for me. So do what ever you can, you are in a free country.
I did not meet Vanunu until June 2005, but I read about his Christmas Eve arrest [in an internet email from Jerry Levin] and I could not comprehend how a democracy could deny anyone from worshipping any where they desired. However, I had not yet taken my first trip to the Holy Land, so I did not know how much I did not know about Israel and occupied Palestine.
The injustice of any one who has served their time for what ever crime and is still being persecuted got my Irish up, and as it was a Christian in the Holy Land, I was flaming mad! So, on Christmas Eve 2004, I spent hours at my computer emailing Mr. Bill O'Reilly-the champion of the "war on Christmas" and my local paper; the Orlando Sentinel, and dozens of top USA media outlets, in the naïve belief that the Fourth Estate would report on a case of religious persecution against a Christian by the Jewish state.
How little I knew then how deluded I was -but ignorance can be a bit of bliss and the rejection by lack of interest, only fueled my desire to persist to plead Vanunu's cause because freedom of speech and the press are my most precious liberties, and also how I define democracy.
In 2004, I naively believed Vanunu's ordeal was unusual and that the USA Fourth Estate cared about the best interests of Americans and would seek the truth and report the truth-no matter how ugly or brutal. After my first of six trips to Israel Palestine in 2005, I grew up very quickly.
In 2007, Israel "blocked clergy from reaching their churches and Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land…The Israeli authorities are arbitrarily denying entry to clergy and volunteers belonging to or working for Christian institutions and service providers. The clergy being harassed and denied entry to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) join tens of thousands of ordinary foreign passport holders of Palestinian and non-Palestinian origin who wish to be with their families, work or study, as well as tourists and pilgrims…In addition, there appears to be a new policy by Israel to refuse entry or visa extension for foreign, primarily Western, Christian volunteers working with various Christian organizations here. This is affecting the viability of these organizations and the normal connection with their supporters and fellow Christians in the countries that contribute to the presence of these Christian workers. They represent mainstream Christian and faith-based groups, such as the World Council of Churches and the American Friend's Service Committee that advocate non- violence and brotherhood and are in no way a threat to the security of Israel…Israel has continued to pursue both policies and practices that fail to comply with International Humanitarian Law."[3]
Although Vanunu was released after 18 years in prison on April 21, 2004, he has been held captive in East Jerusalem under the draconian restrictions of the British Mandate.
After WW 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."
On November 24th, 2006 Vanunu wrote:
"My lawyer succeeded to reveal a few very important facts:
1. 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.
2. He testified that it is not a crime for me to talk with foreigners in general anywhere.
3. 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."
When I saw Vanunu in July 2007, we crossed paths directly in front of Saint Stephen's Church. Vanunu had learned a few weeks prior that he was sentenced to six months in jail for speaking to media in 2004. Vanunu smiled when he told me that the site was "the very spot where they stoned to death the first Christian martyr for freedom of speech."
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