THERE'S A NAME FOR HIM;REFUSENIK
Solcyre Burga
TIME
Wed, December 27, 2023
Israeli soldiers wait for the body of Kobi Zaga to be brought for burial April 4, 2004 during his funeral at the Segula grave yard close to the city of Petakh Tikva, Israel. Credit - Getty Images
An 18-year-old Israeli activist has been sentenced to 30 days in military prison after he refused to enlist in the Israeli army amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“I believe that slaughter cannot solve slaughter,” said Tal Mitnick before he walked into Tel HaShomer military base, according to a video posted on the X account of Mesarvot, an organization that connects young Israelis who do not want to serve in the state military. “The criminal attack on Gaza won’t solve the atrocious slaughter that Hamas executed. Violence won’t solve violence. And that is why I refuse.”
A group of people gathered in solidarity with Mitnick before he entered the military base where he was set to be arrested on Tuesday. His prison sentence may be extended past the initial 30 days if he again refuses to enlist.
The decision comes during a period of despair for Gazans who remain subject to bombs and attacks by Israeli forces nearly 12 weeks after the war began. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to numbers provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry on Friday. A United Nations report has also warned that more than half a million people in Gaza are starving, with the risk of famine increasing every day.
“On the seventh of october, Israeli society experienced a trauma the likes of which was not known in the history of the country…After the terrorist attack, a revenge campaign began not only against Hamas, but against all Palestinian people,” said Mitnick in a statement shared by The Intercept journalist Prem Thakker. “I refuse to believe that more violence will bring security, I refuse to take part in a war of revenge.
Refuseniks, or people who refuse to serve in the military, are not very common in Israel, though there has been press around previous dissent years prior to the ongoing war. Earlier this year, hundreds of Israeli teens refused to join the army as a way to protest the government's plan for a judicial overhaul that they said would turn the country into an undemocratic nation.
“We must stop the judicial overhaul and we must stop taking part in a military that serves settlements and the occupation,” said Mitnick in September, prior to the war.
Israeli law requires all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 that are Jewish, Druze or Circassian to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with some exceptions for Israeli Arabs, religious women, married couples or for people who are medically or mentally unfit, according to the IDF’s website. Some ultra-orthodox Jews, like Haredi Jews, are also exempt from serving in the military
Men are expected to serve at least 32 months, while women must serve a minimum of 24.
Israel has one of the largest military in the world, The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military balance 2023 said there were nearly 170,000 active military personnel, though the army has many hundreds of thousands more in reserve that they can bring in for supplemental aid.
Wed, December 27, 2023
Israeli soldiers wait for the body of Kobi Zaga to be brought for burial April 4, 2004 during his funeral at the Segula grave yard close to the city of Petakh Tikva, Israel. Credit - Getty Images
An 18-year-old Israeli activist has been sentenced to 30 days in military prison after he refused to enlist in the Israeli army amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“I believe that slaughter cannot solve slaughter,” said Tal Mitnick before he walked into Tel HaShomer military base, according to a video posted on the X account of Mesarvot, an organization that connects young Israelis who do not want to serve in the state military. “The criminal attack on Gaza won’t solve the atrocious slaughter that Hamas executed. Violence won’t solve violence. And that is why I refuse.”
A group of people gathered in solidarity with Mitnick before he entered the military base where he was set to be arrested on Tuesday. His prison sentence may be extended past the initial 30 days if he again refuses to enlist.
The decision comes during a period of despair for Gazans who remain subject to bombs and attacks by Israeli forces nearly 12 weeks after the war began. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to numbers provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry on Friday. A United Nations report has also warned that more than half a million people in Gaza are starving, with the risk of famine increasing every day.
“On the seventh of october, Israeli society experienced a trauma the likes of which was not known in the history of the country…After the terrorist attack, a revenge campaign began not only against Hamas, but against all Palestinian people,” said Mitnick in a statement shared by The Intercept journalist Prem Thakker. “I refuse to believe that more violence will bring security, I refuse to take part in a war of revenge.
Refuseniks, or people who refuse to serve in the military, are not very common in Israel, though there has been press around previous dissent years prior to the ongoing war. Earlier this year, hundreds of Israeli teens refused to join the army as a way to protest the government's plan for a judicial overhaul that they said would turn the country into an undemocratic nation.
“We must stop the judicial overhaul and we must stop taking part in a military that serves settlements and the occupation,” said Mitnick in September, prior to the war.
Israeli law requires all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 that are Jewish, Druze or Circassian to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with some exceptions for Israeli Arabs, religious women, married couples or for people who are medically or mentally unfit, according to the IDF’s website. Some ultra-orthodox Jews, like Haredi Jews, are also exempt from serving in the military
Men are expected to serve at least 32 months, while women must serve a minimum of 24.
Israel has one of the largest military in the world, The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military balance 2023 said there were nearly 170,000 active military personnel, though the army has many hundreds of thousands more in reserve that they can bring in for supplemental aid.
A Gen Z Israeli explained why he's refusing to fight Hamas. Now Israel has sent him to military prison.
Grace Eliza Goodwin,Joshua Zitser
Thu, 28 December 2023
Tal Mitnick, 18, of Tel Aviv.Soul Behar Tsalik, Mesarvot Network
A Gen Z Israeli has been sent to prison for refusing to enlist in the military.
Tal Mitnick says he cannot support the cycle of violence and oppression of Palestinian people.
Mitnick will spend 30 days in prison before being screened once again.
A Gen Z Israeli is going to military prison after refusing to enlist in the country's military amid its war with Hamas, saying he won't be part of an 'eye for an eye' cycle of violence.
Tal Mitnick, an 18-year-old from Tel Aviv, is one of several young Israelis defying Israel's mandatory military service, but he is the first to be sent to military prison during his country's war with Hamas. Israel invaded Gaza and declared war against Hamas after the militant group attacked Israel in October.
Mitnick was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 days in prison after refusing to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, a spokesperson for the IDF told Business Insider.
Tal Mitnick stands with a raised fist next to an anti-fascism sign.Tal Mitnick
In a lengthy personal statement shared with Business Insider, Mitnick said that he supports Palestinian people and does not want to contribute to Israel's attacks on Gaza.
"Before the war, the army guarded settlements, maintained the murderous siege on the Gaza Strip, and upheld the status quo of apartheid and Jewish supremacy in the land between the Jordan and the sea," Mitnick wrote in his statement.
"Since the outbreak of the war, we have not seen any call for a real policy change in the West Bank and Gaza, for an end to the widespread oppression of the Palestinian people and the bloodshed, or for a just peace. We are seeing the opposite: the deepening of oppression, the spreading of hatred, and the expansion of the fascist political persecution within Israel," he added.
Mitnick said he does not support Hamas or the Israeli military because "violence cannot solve the situation."
"Continuing this cycle: 'an eye for an eye' without thinking about an actual solution that would provide security and freedom to us all, only leads to more killing and suffering," Mitnick wrote.
Real change, he wrote, can only come from the people of both nations, not the "corrupt politicians" of Israel or the leaders of Hamas.
"This change will come when we recognize the suffering of the Palestinian people over the years, and that this suffering is the result of Israeli policy," Mitnick wrote. "Along with recognition must also come justice, correction, and the construction of a political infrastructure based on peace, freedom and equality."
Prem Thakker, a reporter with The Intercept, shared Mitnick's full statement on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
The IDF told Business Insider that after hearing Mitnick's objections, it was "unanimously determined that no valid reason for conscientious objection was found."
After his sentence is completed, Mitnick will have another interview with a military screening officer, the IDF spokesperson said.
Grace Eliza Goodwin,Joshua Zitser
Thu, 28 December 2023
Tal Mitnick, 18, of Tel Aviv.Soul Behar Tsalik, Mesarvot Network
A Gen Z Israeli has been sent to prison for refusing to enlist in the military.
Tal Mitnick says he cannot support the cycle of violence and oppression of Palestinian people.
Mitnick will spend 30 days in prison before being screened once again.
A Gen Z Israeli is going to military prison after refusing to enlist in the country's military amid its war with Hamas, saying he won't be part of an 'eye for an eye' cycle of violence.
Tal Mitnick, an 18-year-old from Tel Aviv, is one of several young Israelis defying Israel's mandatory military service, but he is the first to be sent to military prison during his country's war with Hamas. Israel invaded Gaza and declared war against Hamas after the militant group attacked Israel in October.
Mitnick was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 days in prison after refusing to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, a spokesperson for the IDF told Business Insider.
Tal Mitnick stands with a raised fist next to an anti-fascism sign.Tal Mitnick
In a lengthy personal statement shared with Business Insider, Mitnick said that he supports Palestinian people and does not want to contribute to Israel's attacks on Gaza.
"Before the war, the army guarded settlements, maintained the murderous siege on the Gaza Strip, and upheld the status quo of apartheid and Jewish supremacy in the land between the Jordan and the sea," Mitnick wrote in his statement.
"Since the outbreak of the war, we have not seen any call for a real policy change in the West Bank and Gaza, for an end to the widespread oppression of the Palestinian people and the bloodshed, or for a just peace. We are seeing the opposite: the deepening of oppression, the spreading of hatred, and the expansion of the fascist political persecution within Israel," he added.
Mitnick said he does not support Hamas or the Israeli military because "violence cannot solve the situation."
"Continuing this cycle: 'an eye for an eye' without thinking about an actual solution that would provide security and freedom to us all, only leads to more killing and suffering," Mitnick wrote.
Real change, he wrote, can only come from the people of both nations, not the "corrupt politicians" of Israel or the leaders of Hamas.
"This change will come when we recognize the suffering of the Palestinian people over the years, and that this suffering is the result of Israeli policy," Mitnick wrote. "Along with recognition must also come justice, correction, and the construction of a political infrastructure based on peace, freedom and equality."
Prem Thakker, a reporter with The Intercept, shared Mitnick's full statement on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
The IDF told Business Insider that after hearing Mitnick's objections, it was "unanimously determined that no valid reason for conscientious objection was found."
After his sentence is completed, Mitnick will have another interview with a military screening officer, the IDF spokesperson said.
No comments:
Post a Comment