Israel’s nuclear whistleblower to enjoy his first Christmas as a free man

Agence France Presse — English
December 23, 2004 Thursday 4:58 AM GMT

JERUSALEM Dec 23 — After 18 years of spending Christmas within the
four walls of an Israeli jail cell with nothing more than a television
for company, Mordechai Vanunu is about to celebrate his first Christmas
as a free man.

“For me, this is a very big Christmas. It’s my first Christmas after
18 years in prison,” says the nuclear whistleblower who was released
in April after serving a lengthy prison term for leaking top-secret
details about Israel’s nuclear programme to Britain’s Sunday Times.

“In terms of my faith, it’s the first time I’m celebrating a real
Christmas among friends. I hope this Christmas will be a new beginning
for peace and non-violence, and for following the way of Jesus,”
he told AFP.

Widely reviled as a traitor throughout Israel, Vanunu has also incurred
the wrath of the Jewish public for converting to Christianity shortly
before he was kidnapped and subsequently jailed in 1986.

“I was baptised in Sydney and a month after that, I was kidnapped,
so I have never celebrated Christmas before.”

Since his release on April 21, Vanunu has taken refuge in St George’s
Anglican cathedral in occupied east Jerusalem, where he is free to
practise his faith.

For a man whose only link to Christmas has been watching the Bethlehem
midnight mass on Arabic television in his prison cell, there is
an almost childlike excitement in seeing the dazzling display of
Christmas decorations at the plush American Colony hotel just down
the road from the church.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Christmas tree in real life,”
he admits with a grin.

“We’re going to decorate the tree in the cathedral a week before
Christmas and we’re also planning to go to Bethlehem for midnight
mass,” he says, while admitting it is unlikely he will get there
given Israel’s heavy restrictions on his movement.

“When I was in prison, I used to celebrate with tapes of Christmas
music. People would send me thousands of Christmas cards and I would
watch the midnight mass on Arabic television.

“From the start, my faith was very strong and I used it to protect
myself from the Israeli psychological warfare,” he said. “I survived
in prison by proclaiming my faith.”

Although Christmas is not celebrated in the Jewish state, Palestinian
Christians in Arab east Jerusalem and the Old City have made an effort
to enter the festive spirit, despite the ongoing economic depression
brought on by more than four years of intifada.

Through the largely empty streets of the Christian and Armenian
quarters, local residents have done their utmost to enter into the
Christmas spirit. Shops and restaurants are aglow with tinsel and
fairy lights, the strains of Nat King Cole’s Christmas Song filtering
onto the rain-swept alleys.

And the few shops selling glittering Christmas ornaments and artificial
trees appear to be doing a brisk trade with a colourful array of
customers, among them monks, nuns and foreigner workers.

Yet ask Vanunu what he most wants for Christmas and his answer
is simple: complete freedom — preferably abroad, far from the
ever-watchful eye of Israel’s powerful security services.

Since his release, Vanunu has been subjected to a series of sweeping
restrictions, including a ban on travelling abroad as well as holding
unauthorized meetings with foreigners, particularly journalists.

“All I want for Christmas is for them to set me free. I don’t feel
safe and I’m not enjoying total freedom. My existence is like being
under occupation, I feel like a Palestinian,” he admits.

“At the end of the day, the real end to 18 years in prison will be
when I get out of Israel’s power.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress