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| The Occupation - 11/19/08 |
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| He Was a Palestinian Donkey | |||
| Danny Felsteiner | |||
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This story is about a donkey who was killed because of his nationality, and since police investigation is still underway, we will keep his identity secret and call him Donkey. Donkey, who had been kidnapped before but forgot all about it, was ambling in the verdant valley on a sunny Saturday morning, probably thinking about nothing and no one in particular, when suddenly a gang of veiled humans jumped him, stabbed him in the chest, and ran away. Donkey bled and bled and bled until he died. This happened last Saturday, November 15, 2008, somewhere in the south Hebron hills in the West Bank. The donkey, along with another donkey whose throat was slit on the same occasion, belonged to a peaceful family of shepherds who have been repeatedly harassed by the same criminals. For over a decade, the criminals have been poisoning sheep (and consequently reindeer who happened to drink from the same waters), stealing goats and lambs, shooting at dogs, and battering and crippling camels, because it doesn't matter if you're human or livestock as long as you're Palestinian. The suspects for the donkey murder live in Havat Ma'on, one of the nearby illegal Israeli outposts in the West Bank, which means that even the state of Israel doesn't approve their presence, at least officially. In reality, they have been living there ever since 1997, with little governmental intervention, embittering the lives of the Palestinians on a daily basis, using animal cruelty as one of their leading tactics, and although they wear skullcaps and read Psalms for breakfast, they commit their crimes mostly on their holiest day, Sabbath. They steal, impair, torture and kill animals and get away with it, because there are no cameras—no electricity in fact—in the countryside, and the local Israeli police hasn't shown much interest in dead lambs unless they come in pita bread. The murder of the next donkey can be prevented if Israel would enforce the law and hunt down those criminals, who are not many, but have managed to castrate the government with political maneuvers and to terrorize the forces of law and order. They are known in Israel as the “Youth of the Hills”, and not a few army and police officials have expressed their terror and wetted their pants when sent to deal with them. If the state of Israel doesn't battle these warmongers with ironclad determination, the next slit throat might belong to a little girl, and it won't matter that she's human, as long as she's Palestinian. Politics aside, if animals are dear to you, we urge you to forward this message to your local animal rights organizations, and request them to act against this inhumane undertaking that has been going on for years. You are also encouraged to send out letters to Israeli animal rights organizations and governmental bodies (information below). What about the peaceful Palestinian family? For them and for many other penniless families in the south Hebron area, who rely on food aid, the donkeys and other assaulted livestock are more than just loyal friends—they constitute the principal source of their sustenance. To survive, they soon must purchase new donkeys, but simply cannot afford it, for each donkey costs 1000 Shekels, not to mention the veterinarian visits, which accumulate to an impossible sum. If you ever asked yourself how you could help in a direct and significant way, here is your chance: send a check payable to "Taayush" to Ezra Nawi, POB 4441, Jerusalem, Israel. Information for sending letters of protest: Israel Police - Animal Abuse Branch – fax: +972-3-7634480 Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection – D@sviva.gov.il – fax: +972-2-6535953 Israel Ministry of Defense – email: pniot@mod.gov.il - fax: +972-3-6976711 Let the Animals Live Israel - http://www.letlive.org.il/english/contact.php - fax: +972-3-6241779 Anonymous for Animal Rights – info@anonymous.org.il - fax: +972-3-6204717
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