Date sent: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 12:37:28 -0600 From: h haskale <haskale@earthlink.net> To: sar@justice.gov.il Copies to: info@gush-shalom.org Subject: Gush Shalom Shalom Minister of Justice Meir Shetreet, In considering the case of Gush Shalom, I hope and trust you will bear in mind the following: What good is a Jewish Nation if it loses its conscience, its moral bearings? The prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah were scoffed at in their time. They warned of downfall, scathingly. Groups such as Gush Shalom hold the standard high, are the most devoted to the tradition of justice, the hallmark of our people. That the government seeks to persecute them rather than heed their warnings is an ominous sign. It bodes ill for democracy in the State of Israel. The `raison d'etre' for the state is put into question when those who warn soldiers when they cross the line into barbarity are hounded. Indeed, Israel's continued existence is jeopardized when its leaders place military or political objectives above standards of human decency as recorded both in biblical texts and encoded in international law. Shall we listen to the voice of conscience and reason or shall we breed further hatred among our neighbours by debasing both their and our humanity? Shall we fuel interminable war disastrous to all or seek to walk in paths of peace? Let us do unto our neighbours as we would have them do unto us. And all honor to those who remind us of the light of truth and justice. Shalom u'vrachah, Hadassah Haskale