“I know that the US is financing some of Israel’s actions in the Occupied Territories. I also know that many Americans believe that they are helping establish security in Israel. But this is not true, for real security will not be achieved by military means. Please help your government understand that by supplying weapons it is not helping the Israelis or the Palestinians. I would like to ask you to support those that are seeking peace for both Palestinian and Israelis.

–Maya Yechieli Wind

Hear her full testimony.

Maya Yechieli Wind, 19, grew up in Jerusalem during the second Intifada. Her first experience with conflict resolution was at age fifteen in “Face to Face”- a dialogue group for Israeli and Palestinian youth. Later she became involved in various co-existence initiatives in the West Bank. She joined the Shministim in December 2008 and refused to serve in the Israeli army. She spent forty days in military prison and was exempted in March 2009. Today she works for the Jerusalem organization Rabbis for Human Rights.

Maya Yechieli Wind testified in front of a Citizen Hearings on the Impact of US Weapons on Civilians in Gaza. The hearing took place in San Francisco on April 26, 2009.