Pen-Elayne on the Web

Vanunu (Partially) Free

One of the top stories on EuroNews that, near as I could tell, wasn't even mentioned during the top hour of this country's morning "news" shows was the release of Mordechai Vanunu from the Israeli prison in Azkaban Askhelon after 18 years. He'd been imprisoned basically for revealing that Israel has tons and tons of nukes, which the country has never confirmed. "Israel maintains a policy of 'strategic ambiguity' about its supposed nuclear arsenal and it has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which would open Dimona up to international scrutiny." Because, you know, God forbid they hold themselves to the same standard as that to which other civilized countries are held. Sometimes this sort of thing makes me ashamed to be a Jew until I realize that sometimes what the U.S. does makes me ashamed to be an American, yet I love the idea of both countries (the US as a real democracy that leads by example and takes care of all its citizens and residents; Israel as a secular-leaning Jewish homeland co-existing peacefully with non-Jews in its midst and as its neighbors) no less. For Vanunu, his treatment by the so-called "Jewish state" led to his conversion to Christianity (which led to even harsher treatment, he says). And he's still restricted from travelling outside the country.