Israeli tennis player challenged.
Shahar Peer the Israeli tennis player has been approached by the Palestine Human Rights Campaign to state her position
on the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.
It is hoped that she will publicly align herself with the Jews and Israelis of conscience who have rejected the Israeli
Government's vicious policies oppressing Palestinians, srealing their land and building a Apartheid Wall well inside
Palestinian territory.
Many sportspeople and artists have condemned the occupation and the momentum to isolate Israel not only economically
but also culturally and in sport is growing.
We call on Shahar Peer to support this move and help Israel become a nation respected by all the world.
Below is the copy of the letter sent to her:
Palestine Human Rights Campaign P.O. Box 56.150 Auckland 3
Dear Shahar Peer
Kia ora. We would like to congratulate you on your success in reaching the Auckland tournament.
We also hope that you will be able to take some time off after the tournament and see the beauty that is Aotearoa and
experience the friendliness of our people and the peace that is common in our country. Of course we also experience `our
share’ of social and political difficulties; but you will find that by and large we attempt to resolve a conflict by
focusing at the root cause – which invariably is embedded in the question of Justice.
We take this opportunity to kindly urge you, in your capacity as an international sporting personality from Israel, to
question the Israeli government’s unwise plans and unjust policies, manifested in the brutal treatment of the
Palestinian people. You will agree, I am sure, that by killing people, confiscating their land, demolishing their homes,
will not bring security to the government of Israel. The present policy of the government can only be described as
terrorism and such a policy only perpetuates injustice and consequently more violence.
You are probably aware that more and more Israeli Jewish soldiers and new recruits are refusing to do military service
in the occupied territories, and increasing numbers of American and South African Jews (for example) are speaking up in
public through mass media, against the `bloody occupation’. We wish you also such strength to stand up and fight for
Justice – as you stand up so admirably to your opponents in the tennis court. When the occupation ends (which we hope is
not too distant in the future) history will be able to say that you too did what little you could to help bring about
freedom for an oppressed people – in the way people now proudly say about the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the demise
of the South African apartheid system, and the destruction of Nazism.
We believe, and we hope you do too, that without justice there can never be peace. Indeed, it could be said that
`justice is the seed and peace the flower’.
We would appreciate your thoughts on this issue.
Once again, best wishes for the future . Kia kaha!