Renewed restrictions by Israel on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu

Israel renews restrictions on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu By Noam Sheizaf |972 Magazine June 1, 2014  Despite serving 18 years in prison, including 11 in solitary confinement, Vanunu is forbidden from traveling and speaking to the media. Recently, he was denied a permit to speak before the British Parliament, following an invitation by 54 MPs.

The Israeli interior minister and the IDF Central Command have decided to extend restrictions on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu’s freedom of movement and speech. Vanunu’s attorney, Avigdor Feldman, has been notified on the decision and told +972 Magazine he will once again petition the High Court of Justice on Vanunu’s case.

Since his release from prison in 2004, Vanunu hasn’t been allowed to leave Israel, enter a foreign consulate or embassy, come within 500 meters of an international border, port or airport or enter the West Bank. He is forbidden from speaking to journalists, and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) monitors all foreign nationals with whom he meets. The Shin Bet must also approve Vanunu’s meetings with a foreign national who the Israeli media says is his partner.

Last month, Vanunu’s request to travel to London for a three-day visit was denied. He had been invited to speak before the British Parliament (his invitation was signed by 54 MPs) as well as to attend an Amnesty International event. Feldman also petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice against that decision………

One thing that troubles me about the case is the relative indifference to his case by the Israeli Left and liberals in the country (compare the silence to the way the Left rallied behind Anat Kamm or the conscientious objector movement). Born in Morocco to a religious Jewish family and raised in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the southern city Be’er Sheva, Vanunu was never close to the lefty elites or the media. Unlike in other cases, journalists immediately adopted the state’s narrative in the case, beginning with their childish celebration of his kidnapping.

There is, of course, a wider context at play. Save for a few rare exceptions, liberals in Israel are all too happy to adhere to the ban on discussing on the nuclear issue. The harm it leads to was never seriously discussed: the lack of adequate public or parliamentary — let alone international — oversight over the nuclear program; the inability to properly review its environmental consequences; the lack of any local analysis of its political and geo-political impact; and finally, the excessive measures taken against those who violate those restrictions, intentionally or not. In short, for a country involved in a nuclear arms race, a domestic nuclear debate is completely missing.

Yet even those who completely subscribe to Israeli nuclear policies and their draconian enforcement should understand how disproportionate Vanunu’s treatment is, not to mention how absurd the current “charges” against him are. If there is one person in this world who is fully aware of Israel’s long arm and the vindictive nature of its security establishment, it’s Vanunu. He is the last person who would think that asylum in Norway or the UK would grant him impunity.

Vanunu will be 60 this year. It’s time Israel let him go.

This article was originally published in Hebrew on Local Call. One thing that troubles me about the case is the relative indifference to his case by the Israeli Left and liberals in the country (compare the silence to the way the Left rallied behind Anat Kamm or the conscientious objector movement). Born in Morocco to a religious Jewish family and raised in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the southern city Be’er Sheva, Vanunu was never close to the lefty elites or the media. Unlike in other cases, journalists immediately adopted the state’s narrative in the case, beginning with their childish celebration of his kidnapping.

There is, of course, a wider context at play. Save for a few rare exceptions, liberals in Israel are all too happy to adhere to the ban on discussing on the nuclear issue. The harm it leads to was never seriously discussed: the lack of adequate public or parliamentary — let alone international — oversight over the nuclear program; the inability to properly review its environmental consequences; the lack of any local analysis of its political and geo-political impact; and finally, the excessive measures taken against those who violate those restrictions, intentionally or not. In short, for a country involved in a nuclear arms race, a domestic nuclear debate is completely missing.

Yet even those who completely subscribe to Israeli nuclear policies and their draconian enforcement should understand how disproportionate Vanunu’s treatment is, not to mention how absurd the current “charges” against him are. If there is one person in this world who is fully aware of Israel’s long arm and the vindictive nature of its security establishment, it’s Vanunu. He is the last person who would think that asylum in Norway or the UK would grant him impunity.

Vanunu will be 60 this year. It’s time Israel let him go.

This article was originally published in Hebrew on Local Call.http://972mag.com/israel-to-renew-restrictions-on-nuclear-whistleblower-mordechai-vanunu/91564/

June 2, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | civil liberties, Israel