This is the fourth consecutive prison term for Hadas. She is due to be released from prison on 15 Feb. Her prison address is the same as before:

Hadas Amit
Military ID 6175691
Military Prison No. 400
Military Postal Code 02447, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-9579348

Since we learned the prison authorities block some of her mail from reaching her, we also recommend you to send your letters of support and encouragement to Hadas via e-mail to amitdrch@gmail.com, and they will be printed out and delivered to her on a family visit. In addition, you may want to follow some of our recommendations for action below.

A brief update also on the case of Fidaa Saad, of whose case we learned recently. Fidaa has apparently already finished his first prison term (of 28 days) a few days ago. He has not been exempted from military service, though, and will probably return to prison again soon. We will update you on further developments in his case.


Recommended Action
First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.

Other recommendations for action:

1. Sending Letters of Support

Please send Hadas letters of support (preferably postcards or by fax) to the prison address above.

2. Letters to Authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on Hadas' behalf, preferably by fax, to:

Mr. Amir Peretz,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan St.,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: sar@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696-27-57 / ++972-3-691-69-40 / ++972-3-691-79-15

The War Resisters' International set up a web-based mailing service, through which you can send a standard e-mail letter (with added comments) to the Israeli Minister of Defence on Hadas' behalf. The form is available on the WRI website, at: http://www.wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20061218a.html.

Note, though, that Israeli officials tend to ignore their e-mail boxes, and their e-mail addresses often bounce. A letter sent by fax would probably be more effective.

Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 400,
Military Prison No. 400,
Military postal number 02447, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-9579389

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:

Avichai Mandelblit,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-43-70

It would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison, and it is the same officer who is ultimately in charge of the military Conscience Committee:

Amir Rogowski,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52

For those of you who live outside Israel, it would be very effective to send protests to your local Israeli embassy. You can find the address of your local embassy on the web.

Here is a sample letter, which you can use, or better adapt, in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners' behalf:

Dear Sir/Madam,

It has come to my attention that Hadas Amit, Military ID 6175691, a conscientious objector, has been imprisoned again for her refusal to perform military service, and is held in Military Prison No. 400.

The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Hadas Amit is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals. The repeated imprisonment of conscientious objectors is an especially grave offence, as it means sentencing a person more than once for the same offence, and has been judged by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to constitute a clear case arbitrary detention.

Moreover, Hadas Amit's imprisonment comes after she had to undergo a degrading and unfair hearing procedure by a military committee, naturally biased against her as a conscientious objector, and doubly biased against her as a woman conscientious objector. Enacting such a procedure is in its own right a violation of the basic standards of fairness.

I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of Hadas Amit, without threat of further imprisonment in the future, and urge you and the system you are heading to respect the dignity and person of conscientious objectors, indeed of all human beings, in the future.

Sincerely,

3. Letters to media in Israel and in other countries

Writing op-ed pieces and letters to editors of media in Israel and other countries could also be quite useful in indirectly but powerfully pressuring the military authorities to let go of the objectors and in bringing their plight and their cause to public attention.

Here are some contact details for the main media outlets in Israel:

Ma'ariv: 2 Karlibach st. Tel-Aviv 67132 Israel Fax: +972-3-561-06-14 e-mail: editor@maariv.co.il	Yedioth Aharonoth: 2 Moses st. Tel-Aviv Israel Fax: +972-3-608-25-46	Ha'aretz (Hebrew): 21 Schocken st. Tel-Aviv, 61001 Israel Fax: +972-3-681-00-12
Ha'aretz (English edition): 21 Schocken st. Tel-Aviv, 61001 Israel Fax: +972-3-512-11-56 e-mail: letters@haaretz.co.il	Jerusalem Post: P.O. Box 81 Jerusalem 91000 Israel Fax: +972-2-538-95-27 e-mail: news@jpost.co.il or letters@jpost.co.il	Radio (fax numbers): Kol-Israel +972-2-531-33-15   and +972-3-694-47-09 Galei Zahal +972-3-512-67-20
Television (fax numbers): Channel 1 +972-2-530-15-36 Channel 2 +972-2-533-98-09

We will continue updating on further developments.

Thank you for your attention and action.

Sergeiy Sandler – New Profile.