Hearing Voices Part II and Vanunu Up Against the Empire

"If governments do not report the truth, and if the media does not report the truth, then all we can do is follow our consciences. Daniel Ellsberg did, the woman from Enron did, and I did."- Mordechai Vanunu to me, June 2005.

The following article was First Published @ June 21, 2007 @
http://www.arabisto.com/p_blogEntry.cfm?blogEntryID=635

[Green Swamp, Fl., June 21, 2007] On 06/17/07, The Peoples Voice and Opednews.com published my article, "Do You Ever Hear Voices?"
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php?s=eileen+fleming...

That article was inspired after the June 13, 2007, The Colbert Report, when Stephen Colbert interviewed the author of Muses, Madmen and Prophets, Daniel B. Smith, who spoke about how hearing voices is not always psychotic and could actually be a good thing.

Two months before my first journey into Israel Palestine in June 2005, I turned the TV on, and what immediately appeared before my eyes was a segment of a show entitled "Sexpionage."

It was all about Russian female spies and one from the Mossad.

I probably never would have tuned into that show, but what I immediately viewed was video of Mordechai Vanunu, being transported to his closed-door trial depicting his inspired move to write "HIJACKED" on his palm, and the Rome airline flight number he had been on.

The show then ran video of Shimon Perez claiming to the world that Israel would never be the first country in the Middle East to go nuclear! But the London Sunday Times proved him a consummate liar, for they had published the photos Vanunu had acquired while working as a low level tech in Israel's WMD Program in the underground Dimona nuclear plant proving that Israel had already gone nuclear!

The Dimona WMD Plant still has NOT been inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency/ IAEA, but President Bush ignores this fact!

Up until that evening I had never seen a photo or that video of Vanunu being transported to his closed door trial, nor any photos of him as a disheveled bearded guy, who looked like most of the guys I had known in college but had no interest in.

But, in my heart I heard: "DO SOMETHING!"

I immediately complained and kvetched to God, what in the world could I ever do to help Vanunu, but every time Vanunu came to my mind, all I would hear in my heart and mind was the incessant refrain: "DO SOMETHING!"

"DO SOMETHING" had been the constant refrain I had been hearing in my heart and brain for years ever since I saw the photo of George of Beit Jala whom I wrote about in, "Do You Ever Hear Voices?"

Just before my first journey to Israel and Palestine in June 2005, a Palestinian American gave me a warning.

He knew I admired what Vanunu had done by standing up to the empire to inform the people of the health risks and dangers of the weapons of mass destruction being manufactured underground in the Negev, that was still labeled as a "TEXTILE PLANT" by the Israeli government in 1986.

My Palestinian American friend warned me, "Don't visit Vanunu, if you see him; don't speak to him. He's not allowed to speak to foreigners and you could cause him trouble."

I responded, "OK, I won't track him down, but Jerusalem is a small town and if our paths cross, I will speak to him. What kind of government is that, that will tell a human being who they can and cannot talk with?"

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Israel agreed to uphold in 1948, affirms that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression…to receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" and as freedom of conscience and speech are God given rights which NO government has any power to rescind, unless of course, we the people cower and cave in to Big Brother; so I had no fear of speaking to Vanunu, if we should meet.

In fact, I did not cross paths with Vanunu for the first time, until the third Tuesday in June which was five days before I returned to the USA.

I had spent a most horrific day in Hebron-the most painful experience in my life. Hebron is where 450 Israeli settlers are protected by 3,000 IDF. Above the narrow winding stoned streets a thick deeply sagging netting is strung for protection from all the huge rocks, shovels, electronic equipment, furniture and all manner of debris that have been flung onto it by the settlers in hopes it will give way and hit any Palestinian who is passing underneath it.

Many of the formerly Palestinian homes in Hebron have graffiti such as "GAS THE ARABS" and Stars of David painted upon them. I felt like I had entered into every movie set and photograph I had ever seen of the ghettos during World War II.

When I returned to my room at the Ambassador Hotel that afternoon I had no intention of going back out. But the second I got out of the shower, the phone rang and it was Tony from Ramallah, whom I 'met' through the Palestinian Christian Yahoo Group. Tony just happened to be in Jerusalem that day seeing a Doctor and he invited me to dinner. We walked towards the Old City in search of a restaurant and on our way was St. George Cathedral where Vanunu had been living. I suggested we stop in and if Vanunu were there we could invite him along. As we entered the courtyard, Vanunu was leaving for a meeting. I imagine if we had arrived a few minutes later we would have missed him completely.

But, that chance meeting led to my opportunity to spend a few hours with Vanunu over the next few days. I was curious as to what kind of a kid he had been and why he became a Christian. In all honesty, Vanunu got the wrong idea about my curiosity, and I admit I had not given it a thought, that since he had been locked up for 18 years, anything female would arouse his interest. His English is also very limited and he did not comprehend my repeated declarative statement: "I am married! I am very married!"

Vanunu thought I was just an American bimbo, but I filled him in on how he got all caught up in my brain with little George of Beit Jala, and the incessant refrain: "DO SOMETHING!"

We were then finally able to spend a few hours together over the next few days. This opportunity offered me the opportunity to learn of his childhood and why and how he became a Christian. Those stories are covered in both of my first books, but, as of this writing Vanunu has quit talking to me, but some of his supporters have not.

On June, 20, 2007, Ernest, the Coordinator for the Campaign for a nuclear free Middle East, sent out an email update on Vanunu, who will learn on June 25th, if he is going back to jail for the interviews he gave to professional media in 2004, and ALL of them have been missing in action ever since!

What follows is but an excerpt of what Ernest wrote: [the complete email is posted on WAWA Blog June 22, 2007
http://www.wearewideawake.org/ ]

Dear friend and Vanunu supporter,

Earlier this year Mordechai was found guilty of the 21 charges of talking to foreign journalists; the court postponed sentencing until 25th June. Once again, the judges accepted the prosecution case, which was mostly based on statements from the security services, whether true or not, and evidence which Mordechai's lawyers are seldom allowed to see. Not much room there for justice! One of Mordechai's lawyers, Michael Sfard, commented after the decision said, "it should be understood, Mordechai has not been convicted for what he said, but just for the act of speaking".

Mordechaia's lawyers don't think the prosecution will ask for a prison sentence but, apparently, they can and might. More likely, there will be warnings to Mordechai of what could happen if he breaks his restriction orders in the future. In fact the restriction orders have now been renewed for the third year; four years in all.

So please watch out for news of the sentencing and be prepared to respond accordingly to Mordechai and / or the media…

…Mordechai has moved again, telling us he now has accommodation in a small hotel in the vicinity of St Georges Cathedral. It is hoped that this will better suit him at the present time.

Mordechai can still be contacted at vmjc1954@gmail.com

Or by post at: P O Box 20102, Herodian Post Office, East Jerusalem 91384, Israel.

Now, after over three years out of prison, it is still or even more important that we do not forget Mordechai's continuing fight for full freedom.

The Israeli authorities would clearly like for Mordechai to disappear and be forgotten; it is up to each one of us to make sure this doesn't happen.

Our very best wishes,
Ernest and Adeline

This civilian journalist, committed Christian of The Beatitudes and agitator of church, state and limp USA MSM, returns to Israel Palestine June 14-28, 2007.

I will respect Vanunu's request to me to honor his privacy and I will not contact him ever again.

But I cannot do as he has demanded of me and delete our video interviews in which Vanunu sends a message to USA Christains and President Bush as to where they can find WMD in the Middle East, and to Senator Clinton about her failure to visit the real Wailing Wall; The Apartheid Wall which divides Bethlehem from her sister city Jerusalem.

Both are freely streaming on http://www.wearewideawake.org .

"If governments do not report the truth, and if the media does not report the truth, then all we can do is follow our consciences. Daniel Ellsberg did, the woman from Enron did, and I did."- Vanunu to me, June 2005.

Following my conscience means following my heart and that is where I hear the voice telling me: DO SOMETHING!