WEBVTT

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I would like to start

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with the story of Mary,

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a woman from an African village.

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Her first memories

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are of her family fleeing violent riots

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orchestrated

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by the ruling political party.

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Her brother was murdered

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by the state-sponsored militia,

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and she was raped more than once

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just because she belonged
to the wrong party.

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One morning, a month before the election,

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Mary's village was called to
another intimidation meeting.

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In this meeting, these men
standing in front of them

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telling them, "We know who you are,

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we know who you will vote for,

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and if you're not going
to drop the right paper,

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we're going to take revenge."

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But for Mary, this meeting is different.

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She feels different.

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This time, she's waiting for this meeting,

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because this time, she's carrying

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a small hidden camera in her dress,

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a camera that nobody else can see.

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Nobody is allowed to film
in these meetings.

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You risk your life if you do.

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Mary knows that, but she also knows

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that the only way to stop them

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and to protect herself

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and her community

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is to expose their intimidation,

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to make sure they understand

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somebody is following them,

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to break the impunity they feel.

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Mary and her friends were filming

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for months undercover

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the intimidation of
the ruling political party.

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(Video) [Filmed With Hidden Cameras]

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Man: We are going to speak
about the upcoming elections.

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Nothing can stup us from doing what we want.

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If we hear you are with [the opposition]

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we will not forgive you.

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[Militia Intimidation Rally]

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[The Party] can torture you at any time.

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The youth can beat you.

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[Disruption of Political Meeting]

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For those who lie, saying they are back with [the Party],

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your time is running out.

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[Party Youth Militia]

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Some have died because they rebelled.

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Some have lost their homes.

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If you don't work together with [the Party],

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you will lead a very bad life.

NOTE Paragraph

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Oren Yakobovich: These images
were broadcast all over the world,

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but more importantly,

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they have been broadcast

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back to the community.

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The perpetrators saw them too.

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They understood somebody
is following them.

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They got scared. Impunity was broken.

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Mary and her friends forced

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the ruling political party

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not to use violence during the election,

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and saved hundreds of lives.

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Mary is just one of hundreds of people

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that my organization had helped

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to document human rights violations

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using cameras.

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My background should have
led me to a different direction.

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I was born in Israel

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to a right-wing family,

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and as long as I remember myself,

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I wanted to join the Israeli army

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to serve my country and prove that I was

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what I believed was our right

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for the whole land.

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I joined the Israeli army just after

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the first intifada,
the first Palestinian uprising,

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and I served in one of the hard-minded,

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toughest, aggressive infantry units,

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and I got the biggest gun in my platoon.

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Quite fast, I became an officer

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and got soldiers under my command,

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and as time passed, I started
serving in the West Bank,

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and I saw these images.

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I didn't like what I saw.

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It took me a while,

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but eventually I refused
to serve in the West Bank

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and had to spend time in jail.

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It was a bit

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— (Applause) —

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It was not that bad, I have to say.

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It was a bit like being in a hotel,

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but with very shitty food.

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In jail, I kept thinking that

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I need people to know,

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I need people to understand

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what's the reality
in the West Bank looks like.

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I need them to hear what I heard,

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I need them to see what I saw,

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but I also understood, we needed

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Palestinians themselves,

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the people that are suffering,

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to be able to tell their own stories,

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not journalists or filmmakers

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that are coming outside of the situation.

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I joined a human rights organization,

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Israeli human rights
organization called B'Tselem.

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Together, we analyzed the West Bank

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and picked a hundred families that
are living in the most risky places:

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close to checkpoints, near army bases,

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side by side with settlers.

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We gave them cameras and training.

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Quite fast, we started getting

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very disturbing images

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about how the settlers

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and the soldiers are abusing them.

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I would like to share with you

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two clips from this project.

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Both of them were broadcast in Israel,

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and it created a massive debate,

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and I have to warn you,

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some of you might find them

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quite explicit.

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The masked men you will see in the first clips

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are Jewish settlers.

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Minutes before the camera was turned on,

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they approached a Palestinian family

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that was working their land

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and told them that they
have to leave the land,

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because this land belongs
to the Jewish settlers.

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The Palestinians refused.

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Let's see what happened.

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The masked men that are approaching

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are Jewish settlers.

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They are approaching
the Palestinian family.