Israeli peace activist to speak at Monday's Democratic luncheon
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Thu, 12/09/2021 - 11:57pm
Event Date:
December 13, 2021 - 12:00pm The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Adam Keller, spokesperson for Gush Shalom ("Peace Bloc"), an extra-parliamentary organization independent of any political party. The group objects to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and opposes Israel's policies of blockade and non-recognition of the Gaza Strip. They support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, with the Green Line as the border except for minor exchanges of territories, and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
Gush Shalom activists regularly confront Israeli security forces at construction sites in settlements in the West Bank, and along the Separation Barrier. Amnesty International has lauded Gush Shalom for promoting peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, and the American Friends Service Committee awarded the organization's founder Uri Avnery its "Profiles of Peace" award. The Haaretz newspaper publishes a weekly editorial statement by Gush Shalom in its weekend edition.
Adam Keller was born in Tel Aviv in 1955 and attended Tel Aviv University. He is a long-standing supporter of Yesh Gvul ("There is a border"), an organization of reservists who refuse to serve in the occupied territories. Adam himself served several prison terms for refusing to report for military duty in the territories occupied since 1967.
In 1988, Reserve Corporal Adam Keller was charged with insubordination and the spreading of propaganda harmful to military discipline, in that while on active duty he had written on 117 tanks and other military vehicles graffiti with the text: "Soldiers of the IDF, refuse to be occupiers and oppressors, refuse to serve in the occupied territories!" And at his army base he placed stickers reading "Down with the occupation!" on electrical pylons and inside of officer bathroom stalls.
Keller was convicted and sentenced to three months imprisonment. He was an active member of Yesh Gvul, but declared that he had acted on his own without consulting with anyone else. For its part, the movement did not take responsibility for his actions, but did provide his wife with the financial support given to the families of refusers.
In April 2004 Keller was a member of a Gush Shalom delegation who visited Palestinian National Authority leader Yasser Arafat at his headquarters in Ramallah to protest what they claimed was a death threat against Arafat by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Keller is the author of Terrible Days: Social Divisions and Political Paradoxes in Israel. Since 1983 he has been editor of The Other Israel, a bi-monthly newsletter of the campaign for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Sponsored by the Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for noon on Monday, December 13th. Adam will be presenting via Zoom. Participants are invited to join the conversation through Zoom or over a bag lunch at Democratic HQ. Those wishing to be on distribution for Zoom links should email Rich Dunn, Men's Committee Events Coordinator, at richdunn@aol.com.
- Adam Keller
- American Friends Service Committee
- Amnesty International
- Announcements
- Ariel Sharon
- Democratic
- Democratic luncheon
- Gaza Strip
- Green Line
- Gush Shalom
- Haaretz
- Israel
- Israelis
- Jerusalem
- Men's Committee
- Monday
- occupation
- Palestinian National Authority
- Palestinians
- Paradoxes in Israel
- Peace Bloc
- Ramallah
- Rich Dunn
- Social Divisions and Political
- Tel Aviv University
- Terrible Days
- The Other Israel
- two-state solution
- Uri Avnery
- West Bank
- Yasser Arafat
- Yesh Gvul
- Zoom
