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According to its website, the group's stated aims are to monitor the behavior of soldiers and police at checkpoints; ensure that the human and civil rights of ]s attempting to enter Israel are protected; and record and report the results of their observations to the widest possible audience, from decision-makers to the general public. <ref>Machsom Watch website, , accessed ], 2006.</ref> Some members of the group also see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints. <ref> (in Hebrew), accessed ], 2006.</ref> <ref> by According to its website, the group's stated aims are to monitor the behavior of soldiers and police at checkpoints; ensure that the human and civil rights of ]s attempting to enter Israel are protected; and record and report the results of their observations to the widest possible audience, from decision-makers to the general public. <ref>Machsom Watch website, , accessed ], 2006.</ref> Some members of the group also see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints. <ref> (in Hebrew), accessed ], 2006.</ref> <ref> by
Sima Kadmon, '']'', ], 2003, accessed ], 2006.</ref> Sima Kadmon, '']'', ], 2003, accessed ], 2006.</ref>

⚫ Machsom Watch has been criticized by the ] (IDF) and by non-governmental organizations for allegedly disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility toward the troops, and making false accusations against them. <ref>NGO Monitor website, (see linked articles), accessed ], 2006.</ref> <ref>Stannard, Matthew B. , '']'', ], 2005, accessed ], 2006.</ref> The IDF says it has listened to the group's contentions and has implemented training programs "to enable soldiers to carry out their work in the 'most moral and respectful way possible'." <ref>Haughey, Nuala 'Israeli checkpoint monitors decry their army's abuse of Palestinians', '']'', ], 2005, p. 11.</ref>

⚫ In March 2004, the group was awarded the ] by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel for making "a unique contribution to the advancement of ] in Israel".


==History== ==History==
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Ronnee Jaeger is an activist who was previously a human-rights worker in ] and ]. Adi Kuntsman is a ] originally from the ], who arrived in Israel in 1990. Yehudit Keshet was an ] and scholar of ]ic ethics, although she has abandoned Orthodoxy.<ref>Machsom Watch website, , accessed ], 2006.</ref> Ronnee Jaeger is an activist who was previously a human-rights worker in ] and ]. Adi Kuntsman is a ] originally from the ], who arrived in Israel in 1990. Yehudit Keshet was an ] and scholar of ]ic ethics, although she has abandoned Orthodoxy.<ref>Machsom Watch website, , accessed ], 2006.</ref>

⚫ Machsom Watch has been criticized by the ] (IDF) and by non-governmental organizations for allegedly disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility toward the troops, and making false accusations against them. <ref>NGO Monitor website, (see linked articles), accessed ], 2006.</ref> <ref>Stannard, Matthew B. , '']'', ], 2005, accessed ], 2006.</ref> The IDF says it has listened to the group's contentions and has implemented training programs "to enable soldiers to carry out their work in the 'most moral and respectful way possible'." <ref>Haughey, Nuala 'Israeli checkpoint monitors decry their army's abuse of Palestinians', '']'', ], 2005, p. 11.</ref>

⚫ In March 2004, the group was awarded the ] by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel for making "a unique contribution to the advancement of ] in Israel".


==Reactions, accusations of bias and the "violin incident"== ==Reactions, accusations of bias and the "violin incident"==

Revision as of 05:07, 12 March 2006

Machsom Watch, also known as Women for Human Rights, is a human rights organization composed exclusively of Israeli women. The word machsom is Hebrew for "checkpoint," referring to the Israel Defense Forces checkpoints in the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel.

According to its website, the group's stated aims are to monitor the behavior of soldiers and police at checkpoints; ensure that the human and civil rights of Palestinians attempting to enter Israel are protected; and record and report the results of their observations to the widest possible audience, from decision-makers to the general public. Some members of the group also see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints.

History

Machsom Watch was founded in 2001 by Ronnee Jaeger, Adi Kuntsman, and Yehudit Keshet in response to concerns about reports of human rights abuses against Palestinians at IDF and border police checkpoints. The group has also expressed concern about what they say is "the excessive Israeli response to the Al Aqsa Intifada, the prolonged closure and siege of villages and towns on the West Bank".

At the beginning of 2004, the group claimed approximately 400 members. Early on, Machsom Watch had some male monitors, but men turned out to show solidarity with the soldiers. According to Keshet, "Their relationship was totally different. They were horrified by what was going on, but at the same time they bonded with the troops."

Ronnee Jaeger is an activist who was previously a human-rights worker in Guatemala and Mexico. Adi Kuntsman is a feminist originally from the Soviet Union, who arrived in Israel in 1990. Yehudit Keshet was an Orthodox Jew and scholar of Talmudic ethics, although she has abandoned Orthodoxy.

Machsom Watch has been criticized by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and by non-governmental organizations for allegedly disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility toward the troops, and making false accusations against them. The IDF says it has listened to the group's contentions and has implemented training programs "to enable soldiers to carry out their work in the 'most moral and respectful way possible'."

In March 2004, the group was awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel for making "a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel".

Reactions, accusations of bias and the "violin incident"

During a two-hour meeting with members of the group in March 2006, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told the women that: "Humanitarianism is not exclusively owned by Machsom Watch and it is tested not only at the checkpoints, but also in preventing suicide bombers from reaching the markets of Tel Aviv and Netanya."

The group has been accused by non-governmental organizations, individual soldiers, and soldiers mothers of hurling derogatory comments and curses at soldiers. NGO Monitor has accused the group of "using emotive and politically charged language that contributes to the demonization of Israel."

According to Yossi Olmert, a political commentator, Machsom Watch volunteers "disrupt the work of soldiers at checkpoints who are trying, not always successfully, to prevent the entry of terrorists."

According to Linda Grant of The Guardian, who toured Israeli checkpoints with members of Machsom Watch in 2003, the criticism of Machsom Watch is tempered by "a growing climate of opinion in Israel, including from a former Likud mayor of Tel Aviv, that the checkpoints only exist to harass the Palestinian population and are ineffective at stopping suicide bombers."

Several organizations in Israel demanded that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) remove the women from checkpoints. Soldiers have protested against an invitation extended by the IDF to Machsom Watch to speak at an army base, seeing the invitation as inappropriate mixing of politics into the military service.

Late in 2004, Machsom Watch was accused of falsely claiming that the IDF forced a Palestinian violinist to play his violin at a checkpoint, a story which was printed worldwide. While originally the IDF said the soldier had acted insensitively, the IDF's commission on the issue, citing the testimonies of several soldiers and members of Machsom Watch, and after reviewing the videotape of the incident, concluded that the violinist had played voluntarily. The Palestinian in question said he had been "asked" to play a sad song.

Footnotes

  1. Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  2. 'Watch' (in Hebrew), accessed 11 March, 2006.
  3. 'Many Mothers' by Sima Kadmon, Yedioth Ahronoth, 21 November, 2003, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  4. Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  5. Hammer, Joshua 'Grandmothers on Guard', Mother Jones, November/December, 2004, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  6. Machsom Watch website, 'About Us', accessed 11 March, 2006.
  7. NGO Monitor website, Infofile (see linked articles), accessed 11 March, 2006.
  8. Stannard, Matthew B. 'A Time Of Change: Israelis, Palestinians And The Disengagement: At Checkpoints, A Gentle Advocate For Palestinians', San Francisco Chronicle, 2 August, 2005, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  9. Haughey, Nuala 'Israeli checkpoint monitors decry their army's abuse of Palestinians', Irish Times, 11 June, 2005, p. 11.
  10. Harel, Amos 'IDF chief invites anti-fence protesters to Tel Aviv meeting', 5 March, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  11. Weiss, Efrat Leftist group stirs IDF row, YNet News, 22 February, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  12. NGO Monitor website, Infofile, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  13. Stannard, Matthew B. 'A Time Of Change: Israelis, Palestinians And The Disengagement: At Checkpoints, A Gentle Advocate For Palestinians', San Francisco Chronicle, 2 August, 2005, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  14. Grant, Linda 'Checking on the checkpoints', The Guardian, 2 February, 2004, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  15. HaLevi, Ezra 'Mothers of Soldiers Protest IDF´s Embrace of Machsom Watch', Arutz Sheva, 23 February, 2006, accessed 11 March, 2006.
  16. Rabinowitz, Gavin 'Military denies Palestinian forced to play violin to pass roadblock', Associated Press, 30 November, 2004, accessed 11 March, 2006.

Bibliography

External links

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