Three Shministim — Yuval Ophir-Auron, Omer Goldman, and Sahar Vardi — are coming to South Africa!

Here’s the info we’ve got, courtesy of the South African End Conscription Campaign (ECC) and the Open Shuhada Street Campaign:

“Twenty five years ago the End Conscription Campaign (ECC), one of the movements connected to the United Democratic Front, began its campaign to end the conscription of white males into the South African Defence Force (SADF). It was composed of conscientious objectors who believed that the wars the SADF was fighting were immoral and instead preferred to go to jail rather than be conscripted. The ECC is celebrating its 25th Anniversary at the end of October. To highlight the fact that young people whose countries are involved in conflict are today taking a similar moral stand, the organisers have invited conscientious objectors from various countries, including Eritrea, the USA and Israel.

From 1 to 12 October 2009, three Israeli conscientious objectors who are members of the Shministim movement, translated as ‘twelfth graders’ in Hebrew, will be visiting South Africa as guests of the ECC and Open Shuhada Street (OSS), an organisation campaigning for a street in Hebron (Shuhadah Street) to be opened to Palestinians and Israelis. The Shministim, who have all been to prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli Defence Force, are being brought to South Africa because of the strong principled stand that they have taken and their willingness to accept the consequences of their beliefs.

The Shministim will be meeting with various members of South African society so that they can explain their stand as conscientious objectors, build international solidarity on the basis of equality and human rights for all, and learn from local activists about the struggles of the past and the present.

They will engage with a broad range of people including civil society, the general public, various faith communities, activists, and most importantly youth.”

If you want more info on Yuval, Omer, and Sahar, click here for their bios.

The Shministim will deliver the Ashley Kriel Memorial Lecture

The Shministim will be delivering the Ashley Kriel memorial lecture at the University of the Western Cape. This is a major honour and given in memory of the murdered 21 year old anti-apartheid activist who was a model for youth struggle and principled resistance. This lecture will be delivered to over 1000 people from all backgrounds.
See: http://www.ijr.org.za/pastevents/ashleykriel

The Shminstim will also appear in the Carte Blanche’ – TV show

The Shministim will be the focus of a report on South Africa’s most prominant investigative reporting TV show – Carte Blanche’.

If you have any further questions about the South Africa tour or would like to make contact with the Shministim there, please contact:

Laurie Nathan
End Conscription Campaign
076 524 2161
L.Nathan at lse.ac.uk

Ilan Strauss
Open Shuhada Street volunteer
083 473 2080
ilanstrauss at gmail.com

Daniel Mackintosh
Open Shuhada Street volunteer
072 200 0393
Daniel.mackintosh at gmail.com