Machsom Watch
Encyclopedia
Machsom Watch, or Checkpoint Watch is a group of Israel
i women who monitor checkpoints
in the West Bank and the military courts, out of opposition to the Israeli occupation. The self described "politically pluralistic" human rights
organization is composed of Israel
i women to the exclusion of men, with a "bias towards mature, professional women" who tend to have a "liberal or leftist background". Machsom Watch claims to have 400 members, notably including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
's daughter Dana
. The word machsom is Hebrew
for "checkpoint," referring to Israeli Defense Forces checkpoints which control movement between different parts of the West Bank
and between the West Bank and Israel.
The IDF view of the humanitarian situation expressed by IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz during a two-hour meeting with members of the group in March 2006 where he 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
."
According to its website, the group's 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 also see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints.
Machsom Watch has been accused of being hostile towards the Israeli troops and disrupting the operation of checkpoints. Some of its charges against the troops have also been disputed as false. On May 2006, the group sent a letter of apology to the IDF after activists had verbally attacked a soldier, called him "Nazi" and other profanities as he asked Palestinians to stand in line for an ID check at a checkpoint leading into Israel. In response to the group's contentions regarding the checkpoints, the IDF has implemented training procedures intended to ensure respectful behavior by soldiers.
and Mexico
; Adi Kuntsman, who arrived in Israel from the Soviet Union
in 1990; and Yehudit Keshet, a former Orthodox Jew
and scholar of Talmud
ic ethics, in response to allegations of human-rights violations 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 and the prolonged closure and siege of villages and towns on the West Bank".
In early 2002, following a wave of suicide bombings, the IDF checkpoints increased in number and Machsom Watch's activities attracted Israeli media attention, bringing more volunteers, including a few men. The involvement of male monitors was not a success.
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
."
Machsom Watch has been accused by the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF), some non-governmental organizations, individual soldiers, and soldiers' mothers of disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility, and shouting derogatory comments and curses toward the troops, as well as making false accusations against them. NGO Monitor
has accused the group of "using emotive and politically charged language that contributes to the demonization
of Israel." In fall 2008, company commanders in the Military Police's Taoz Battalion began filming Machson Watch's activities as a result of repeated complaints from soldiers that Machson Watch and similar organizations were disrupting the work at the checkpoints and entering restricted areas without permission.
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."
by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
for "their remarkable activities and ongoing surveilance of operations of the armed forces at checkpoints in the occupied territories, at a time of general indifference and waning sensitivity to the human rights of Palestinians".
In an editorial of March 8, 2006, Haaretz
argued that organizations like Machsom Watch should not be viewed negatively in Israel: "This organization - like other human rights organizations, each of which focuses on a different consequence of the occupation - is the least that Israeli citizens can do to try to prevent injustices stemming from the occupation. Life under the anomaly of an occupation regime produces strange solutions, such as the presence of women alongside soldiers in an effort to ensure a more humane routine. The human rights organizations are the state's pride, not a threat that must be liquidated or minimized."
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i women who monitor checkpoints
Israel Defense Forces checkpoint
A Israel Defense Forces checkpoint, usually called an Israeli checkpoint , is a barrier erected by the Israel Defense Forces with the stated aim of enhancing the security of Israel and Israeli settlements and preventing those who wish to do harm from crossing...
in the West Bank and the military courts, out of opposition to the Israeli occupation. The self described "politically pluralistic" human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization is composed of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i women to the exclusion of men, with a "bias towards mature, professional women" who tend to have a "liberal or leftist background". Machsom Watch claims to have 400 members, notably including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
's daughter Dana
Dana Olmert
Dana Olmert, born 26 December 1972, is an Israeli left wing activist, literary theorist and editor, and is a daughter of Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert....
. The word machsom is Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for "checkpoint," referring to Israeli Defense Forces checkpoints which control movement between different parts of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and between the West Bank and Israel.
The IDF view of the humanitarian situation expressed by IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz during a two-hour meeting with members of the group in March 2006 where he told the women that: "Humanitarianism
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
is not exclusively owned by Machsom Watch and it is tested not only at the checkpoints, but also in preventing suicide bombers
Suicide Bombers
Suicide Bombers is the name of a 2005 EP by Leæther Strip. For the Australian hardcore band see Suicide Bombers -Track listing:# Suicide Bombers# Suicide Bombers # The Shame Of A Nation # This Is Where I Wanna Be...
from reaching the markets of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
."
According to its website, the group's aims are to monitor the behavior of soldiers and police at checkpoints; ensure that the human and civil rights of Palestinians
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
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 also see their role as protesting against the existence of the checkpoints.
Machsom Watch has been accused of being hostile towards the Israeli troops and disrupting the operation of checkpoints. Some of its charges against the troops have also been disputed as false. On May 2006, the group sent a letter of apology to the IDF after activists had verbally attacked a soldier, called him "Nazi" and other profanities as he asked Palestinians to stand in line for an ID check at a checkpoint leading into Israel. In response to the group's contentions regarding the checkpoints, the IDF has implemented training procedures intended to ensure respectful behavior by soldiers.
History
Machsom Watch was founded in 2001 by Ronnee Jaeger, previously a human-rights worker in GuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; Adi Kuntsman, who arrived in Israel from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1990; and Yehudit Keshet, a former Orthodox Jew
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and scholar of Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic ethics, in response to allegations of human-rights violations at IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and border-police checkpoints. The group has also expressed concern about what they say is "the excessive Israeli response to the Al Aqsa Intifada and the prolonged closure and siege of villages and towns on the West Bank".
In early 2002, following a wave of suicide bombings, the IDF checkpoints increased in number and Machsom Watch's activities attracted Israeli media attention, bringing more volunteers, including a few men. The involvement of male monitors was not a success.
Criticisms of Machsom Watch
During a two-hour meeting with members of the group in March 2006, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told the women that: "HumanitarianismHumanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
is not exclusively owned by Machsom Watch and it is tested not only at the checkpoints, but also in preventing suicide bombers
Suicide Bombers
Suicide Bombers is the name of a 2005 EP by Leæther Strip. For the Australian hardcore band see Suicide Bombers -Track listing:# Suicide Bombers# Suicide Bombers # The Shame Of A Nation # This Is Where I Wanna Be...
from reaching the markets of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
."
Machsom Watch has been accused by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF), some non-governmental organizations, individual soldiers, and soldiers' mothers of disrupting the operation of checkpoints, showing hostility, and shouting derogatory comments and curses toward the troops, as well as making false accusations against them. NGO Monitor
NGO Monitor
NGO Monitor is a non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem, Israel whose stated aim is to generate and distribute critical analysis and reports on the output of the international NGO community for the benefit of government policy makers, journalists, philanthropic organizations and the...
has accused the group of "using emotive and politically charged language that contributes to the demonization
Demonization
Demonization is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally monotheistic and henotheistic ones...
of Israel." In fall 2008, company commanders in the Military Police's Taoz Battalion began filming Machson Watch's activities as a result of repeated complaints from soldiers that Machson Watch and similar organizations were disrupting the work at the checkpoints and entering restricted areas without permission.
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."
Support of Machsom Watch
In March 2004, the group was awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights AwardEmil Grunzweig Human Rights Award
The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel"...
by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Association for Civil Rights in Israel
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....
for "their remarkable activities and ongoing surveilance of operations of the armed forces at checkpoints in the occupied territories, at a time of general indifference and waning sensitivity to the human rights of Palestinians".
In an editorial of March 8, 2006, Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
argued that organizations like Machsom Watch should not be viewed negatively in Israel: "This organization - like other human rights organizations, each of which focuses on a different consequence of the occupation - is the least that Israeli citizens can do to try to prevent injustices stemming from the occupation. Life under the anomaly of an occupation regime produces strange solutions, such as the presence of women alongside soldiers in an effort to ensure a more humane routine. The human rights organizations are the state's pride, not a threat that must be liquidated or minimized."
The Beit-Iba checkpoint violin incident
On 9 November 2004, members of Machsom Watch videoed the IDF forcing a Palestinian violinist to play his violin at a checkpoint. The IDF announced that the soldier had acted insensitively and reprimanded him, but later declared that the violinist had been playing voluntarily.Further reading
- Deutsch-Nadir, Sharon (2005). "Capitalizing on Women’s Traditional Roles in Israeli Peace Activism: A Comparison Between Women In Black and Checkpoint Watch", The Fletcher School, Tufts University.
- Kirstein Keshet, Yehudit (2006) Checkpoint Watch: Testimonies from Occupied Palestine. Zed. ISBN 1-84277-719-X
- Kimmerling, Baruch (2003). Politicide: Ariel Sharon's War Against the Palestinians. Verso. ISBN 1-85984-517-7
- Nirgad, Lia, Winter in Qualandia - Eine Strassensperre zwischen Jerusalem und Ramallah, Melzer Verlag Neu-Isenburg 2005, ISBN 3-937389-57-1 (German translation of Hebrew original, Xargol Books/Israel) [A Machsom Watch woman reports on her experiences at the Qualandia checkpoint and others]
- Weiss, Efrat. "IDF soldier killed at roadblock", Ynetnews.com, August 12, 2005