22 MFómh 2011, 15:59
The testimony of former Israeli soldier and member of the organisation Breaking the Silence, Naom Chayut, provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the problems Israeli-Palestinian conflict and can only add to efforts to bring peace to the region, according to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs.
Naom Chayut, an ex-Israeli soldier who served in the Israeli army from 1998 to 2003, appeared before the Committee today to discuss Israel’s military actions in the Occupied Territories. Mr Chayut joined Breaking the Silence a few weeks after its establishment in 2004. Set up by former Israeli soldiers, Breaking the Silence collects and voices the testimonies of soldiers who served in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem during the Second Intifada which began in September 2000,
Joe Costello, TD, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs, said: “Breaking the Silence gives former Israeli soldiers and veterans a platform to articulate their experiences of serving in the military in the Occupied Territories. The organisation helps to break the silence of Israeli soldiers who returned to civilian life but felt they could not talk about Israel’s military actions and their own feelings about their military service.
Mr Chayut provided the Committee with clear, thought-provoking and insightful testimony of his own and other soldiers’ experiences of serving in the Israeli Defence Forces in the Occupied Territories. It is important to hear first-hand experience of serving soldiers as it gives a clearer picture of what is happening on the ground. It provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the problems of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and helps efforts to bring peace to the region,”
For further information please contact:
Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551
Committee on European Union Affairs
Membership
Deputies
Joe Costello, TD (Chairman)
Paschal Donohoe, TD (Vice-Chairman)
Timmy Dooley, TD
Bernard J Durkan, TD
Colm Keaveney, TD
Seán Kyne, TD
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, TD
Joe O’Reilly, TD
Mick Wallace, TD
Senators
Colm Burke,
Fidelma Healy Eames,
James Heffernan,
Terry Leyden,
Kathryn Reilly