On Wednesday 26th June Mid Devon Amnesty Group are again hosting an event at Magelake Hall in Uffculme commencing at 7pm.

The speaker is Mr. Ben Yeger a veteran of the Israeli Defence Force during the 1980’s who is now a peace activist.

Born in the UK, Ben Yeger moved to Israel with his parents when he was 8 years old. At the time of his arrival Israel was already in the middle of a war and this was the first time he was introduced to the notion that Palestinians/Arabs were the ‘Enemy’.

At the age of 18/19 he was drafted into the Israeli Army and served 3 years as a paratrooper from 1983 to 1986.

Specifically, throughout his time in the Israeli Defence Force he was actively indoctrinated to ‘Dehumanise the enemy’, Palestinians and Arabs were to be feared and distrusted.

However, in what he describes as a pivotal moment towards the end of his service an incident initiated the slow re-evaluation of his long-held belief that all Arabs were the enemy. 

Ben left Israel in 1986/87 and immediately returned to the UK where he subsequently joined Combatants for Peace, an NGO run by Israeli and Palestinian ex combatants working together to promote a peaceful solution to the Israeli occupation of Palestine through non-violent action.

Ben is a Peace and Social Justice Activist. He is the Founder and Director of Moving Conflicts and is the UK representative of Combatants for Peace. He currently lives in Devon with his partner and family.

With the devastation currently occurring in the region this talk will be an ideal opportunity to hear from someone with first-hand knowledge.

We look forward to seeing you there!