Yossi and Jagger: Epilogue

Act I:  When Israel finally withdraws its troops from Lebanon in May 2000, the country is almost totally destroyed.  Damage from the ongoing assaults is estimated at $25,000,000,000.  The countryside is riddled with land mines, which continue to kill children and other civilians to this day.

Act II:  Yossi realizes that the Israeli military is no place for anyone with a conscience, gay or straight.  He joins Yesh Gvul (There Is a Limit), which was founded in 1982 by Israeli soldiers who refused to fight in Lebanon because of the brutal and aggressive nature of the invasion.  He goes to prison for refusing to participate in the subjugation of a sovereign people, and falls in love with one of the many other gay refuseniks.

Act III:  Yossi and his new beau join with other Israeli and Palestinian activists fighting for a just and democratic society.  They join the movement to oppose construction of the Apartheid Wall, which is confiscating and destroying Palestinian land and to demand equal civil rights for all citizens of Israel regardless of race or religion.

A few things you didn¹t see in the movie:

·       17,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians were killed by the Israeli forces in Lebanon.

·       On September 16, 1982, 3,500 refugees, mostly women and kids, were massacred by Israeli-backed forces in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon.  Ariel Sharon, the current prime minister of Israel was held by an Israeli commission to be responsible for masterminding the massacre.

·       The $25 billion in damage that the Israelis did to Lebanon is equivalent to only six years¹ worth of United States military aid to Israel ($4 billion annually).

·       168 Israeli men were imprisoned for refusing to serve in Lebanon.  Since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000, over 600 have been jailed for refusing to serve (quite a few of them gay), and a number have recently been given repeat sentences.

·       Jonathan Ben-Artzi, the nephew of former prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu, has served 241 days, or 7 consecutive sentences, for his conscientious objection to war.  The committee which sent him to prison said that ³his record of opposition to the army showed he had the character of a warrior and was clearly not a pacifist.²

What you can do:

·       Ask Frameline why they chose to show this movie (you can write a note on your evaluation form).

·       Be sure to see ³Tarik El Hob (The Path to Love)² at the Castro on Monday and ³Queer Documentary in Wartime: A New View of the Israeli Palestinian Crisis² at Herbst on Tuesday.

·       Donate to the Stephen Funk Defense Fund.  Stephen is a gay Filipino American who is being court-martialed for refusing to participate in the U.S. slaughter in Iraq.  Put money in the cans being distributed, or send checks to Stephen Funk Legal Defense Fund, 1230 Market Street Box 111, San Francisco, CA 94102; email: stephenfunk@objector.org.

For more information contact QUIT! Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism,
510-434-1304; quitpalestine@yahoo.com; www.quitpalestine.org