Looking over his shoulder for eavesdroppers in a cafe, an Israeli anti-war campaigner leaned closer to a woman who plans to refuse military enlistment, risking jail time during Israel’s unrelenting Gaza offensive.
“The decision to refuse is brave,” said activist Nave Shabtay Levin, 20, who was jailed for 115 days until March last year for refusing the draft.
“It is more brave during wartime,” he said, addressing 18-year-old Sofia Orr, who sat next to him in an outdoor Tel Aviv cafe.
Photo: Reuters
Israeli teenager Tal Mitnick last month became the first “conscientious objector” to be imprisoned for refusing mandatory military service since Israel’s war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 last year, volunteer group Mesarvot said.
Some of Mitnick’s supporters from Mesarvot, Hebrew for “we refuse,” have publicly declared plans to follow in his footsteps, voicing opposition to the war and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Refusal to enlist is a lonely political position, especially as nationalist sentiment soars during wartime, in a nation where the military is widely seen as a cornerstone of national identity and army service an important rite of passage.
Amid the war rhetoric of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the “refuseniks” — as they are often known in Israel — say their stance has seen them branded as traitors and invited death threats.
Levin spoke in a whisper, his eyes darting around as he conceded that talking openly about opposing the war can be “dangerous.”
Both men and women have to enlist in the army at the age of 18.
Orr appeared undeterred, having declared her plan in public forums to refuse when she is up for enlistment next month.
“My conscience does not allow me to enlist,” she said, adding that she does not believe eradicating Hamas’ violent ideology — which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist — is possible through military means.
“We are fighting fire with fire,” she said.
Orr expects the same fate as Mitnick, 18, who received a 30-day initial prison sentence that was deemed harsher than usual after he refused to participate in what he called a “war of revenge.”
Israelis who refuse enlistment on political grounds are typically imprisoned for up to 10 days initially and receive additional jail terms if they continue to refuse, members of Mesarvot said.
The war began on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack from the Gaza Strip that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment of Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, that has killed at least 24,100 people, mostly women and children, the territory’s health ministry says.
Conscription is mandatory for Jewish Israelis. Exemptions are sometimes granted for religious, medical or ethical reasons — but not on political grounds.
Mesarvot has dozens of volunteers, but the exact number of refuseniks remains unclear as many have not gone public. The army declined to comment when asked for statistics.
“One massacre does not justify another one,” Iddo Elam, 17, another volunteer who plans to refuse enlistment, told Britain’s Sky News.
Refuseniks are among Jewish peace advocates promoting coexistence with Palestinians who have organized protests demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, where they are often accosted by ultra-nationalist hecklers and police.
They remain a minority in a nation that has seen a rightward lurch, with polls showing limited support among Jewish Israelis for peace negotiations with Palestinians or a two-state solution.
A small number of refuseniks are unlikely to dent the Israeli army, comprising hundreds of thousands of active-duty soldiers and reservists, which has defied global criticism over rising deaths and destruction in Gaza.
“There’s not even one soldier or officer, pilot or artilleryman ... who has said: ‘That’s far enough. I’m not ready to continue taking part in the slaughter,’” columnist Gideon Levy wrote in the Israeli left-leaning daily Haaretz, adding their silence reflected “moral blindness.”
Orr considers her refusal to enlist as a fight to stay human.
The attack on Oct. 7 last year left her “angry,” said Orr, who had an acquaintance killed at a desert rave that was among the sites Hamas targeted in southern Israel.
It also left her instantly worried about the “horrors” Israel’s retaliation would unleash in Gaza, she said.
“Extreme violence leads to extreme violence,” Orr said.
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