From: Ruth L.

Hiller (New Profile) Subject: ] | | | First Prison Term for Conscientious Objector Natan Blanc Dear Friends, I hope all is well with you. I am a little late at sending out this CO update to you, this time in 3 languages. Sorry for that. I know that many of you wait for these and see them as rays of hope. However the update is still very relevant. Please circulate it to your wider lists. Thank you and all the best, Ruth Subject: First Prison Term for Conscientious Objector Natan Blanc | |

Arabic and Hebrew follows. - Please distribute widely Conscientious objector Natan Blanc sentenced to prison for the first time for his refusal to join the Israeli Army. CO Natan Blanc, 19 years old from, Haifa, arrived, Sunday, 19 November, to the Induction Base in Tal-hashomer, where he declared his refusal to serve in the Israeli Army. he was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment for his refusal, he also received a suspended sentence of 10 days. In his refusal declaration Blanc wrote: "I began thinking about refusing to conscripted into the Israeli Army during the Cast Lead operation in 2008. The wave of aggressive militarism that swept the country then, the expressions of mutual hatred, and the vacuous talk about stamping out terror and creating a deterrent effect were the primary trigger for my refusal. Today, after four years full of terror, without a political process [towards peace negotiations], and without quiet in Gaza and Sderot, it is clear that the Netanyahu Government, like that of his predecessor Olmert, is not interested in finding a solution to the existing situation, but rather in preserving it. From their point of view, there is nothing wrong with our initiating a Cast Lead 2

operation every three or four years (and then 3, 4,5 and 6): we will talk of deterrence, we will kill some terrorist, we will lose some civilians on both sides, and we will prepare the ground for a new generation full of hatred on both sides. As representatives of the people, members of the cabinet have no duty to present their vision for the futures of the country, and they can continue with this bloody cycle, with no end in sight. But we, as citizens and human beings, have a moral duty to refuse to participate in this cynical game." You can read the full declaration here. His prison address is: Natan Blanc Military ID 7571369 Military Prison No. 6 Military Postal Code 01860, IDF Israel Fax: ++972-4-9540580 Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send them your letters of support and encouragement via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting reply all to this message will send the message to the same address), and they will be printed out and delivered during visits. 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, social networks, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc. Other recommendations for action: 1. Sending Letters of Support Please send Natan letters of support to the prison address above and via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org and Nathanbl@walla.com. 2. Letters to Authorities It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors behalf, preferably by fax, to:

Mr. Ehud Barak, Minister of Defence, Ministry of Defence, Hakirya, Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel. E-mail: s...@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il Tel.: ++972-3-6975220 Fax: ++972-3-6962757 Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at: Commander of Military Prison No. 6, Military Prison No. 6 Military Postal Code 01860, IDF Israel Fax: ++972-4-9540580 Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General: Denny Efroni, Chief Military Attorney Military postal code 9605, IDF Israel Fax: ++972-3-569-45-26 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: Gil Ben Shaul, 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 generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own: Dear Sir/Madam, It has come to my attention that Natan Blanc (military ID 7571369), a conscientious objector to military service, has been imprisoned for the second time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 6 near Atlit. The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Blanc is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals. I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of Natan Blanc, 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 persons, 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 Israel Hayom: 2 Hashlosha st. The B1 Building Tel-Aviv Israel e-mail: hayom@israelhayom.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 Channel 10 +972-3-733-16-66