View source for Refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces

{{Short description|Conscientious objection in Israel (1948–)}}
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{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}

[[Israeli citizenship law|Citizens of Israel]] have refused to serve in the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) or have disobeyed orders on the grounds of [[pacifism]], [[antimilitarism]], religious philosophy, or political disagreement with Israeli policy such as [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|its occupation of the West Bank]].<ref name=dodger>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-09-24/israeli-draft-dodgers-protest-occupation/679514 Israeli 'draft dodgers' protest occupation] – over 1/4 of men and 43% of women not enlisting. Verified 3 Oct 2007.</ref><ref>[https://www.academia.edu/179941/Between_Militarism_and_Pacifism_Conscientious_Objection_and_Draft_Resistance_in_Israel Central European Journal of International and Security Studies] Between Militarism and Pacifism: Conscientious Objection and Draft Resistance in Israel by Yulia Zemlinskaya</ref> [[Conscientious objector]]s in Israel are known as ''sarvanim'' (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] {{Lang|he|סרבנים}}) which is sometimes translated as "refuseniks", or ''mishtamtim'' (evaders, dodgers).<ref>פ"ע (להשתמט מ-) '''השתמט''' ''hishtamet'' – intransitive verb; ''le-hishtamet mi-'' = [to] dodge, evade, shirk. Oxford Hebrew-English-Hebrew dictionary, ed. Ya'acov Levy; English text from [[Oxford University Press]] 1994 Kernerman Publishing Ltd. {{ISBN|965-307-026-6}}</ref>

== Aspects ==
===Causes===
Some distinguish between refusal to serve in the military because of a pacifist worldview that rejects any manifestation of [[violence]] and encompasses a refusal to submit to compulsory military service in any form, and partial refusal to serve, such as the [[Ometz Le'sarev|Courage to Refuse]] group who "do their reserve duty wherever and whenever they are summoned, but refuse to serve in the [[Israeli-occupied territories|occupied territories]]."<ref>[http://www.seruv.org.il/english/movement.asp 'The Commandos have Courage to Refuse,'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041019032914/http://www.seruv.org.il/english/movement.asp |date=2004-10-19 }} Seruv.org 2003.</ref>  The diverse range of opinions regarding the refusal to serve is the reason why there is no single [[umbrella organization]] that encompasses all groups of refusers. While most instances of refusal to serve have historically been found among [[Israeli left-wing politics|left]]-leaning Israelis, there is a rapidly expanding willingness among [[Israeli right-wing politics|right-wing]] soldiers to refuse orders to evict Jews from [[Israeli settlements|settlements]] in the [[West Bank]] (and formerly in the [[Gaza Strip]]).{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}

===Religious exemption===
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, [[Haredi]] Jews have refused to serve in the Israeli military for religious reasons. Typically, they study [[Torah]] in Yeshivas, and as such are [[Tal committee|legally exempt]] from military service. Also refusing any Israeli military service are people affiliated with various [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] anti-Zionist groups (most notably [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar]]), the [[Brisk Yeshivas]], and the [[Neturei Karta]]. Most of these groups are followers of the [[HaEdah HaCharedis|Edah HaCharedis]]. Haredi Jews who avoid military service yet are only part-time [[yeshiva]] students,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sharon|first1=Jeremy|title=Haredim riot over arrest of pub-going, draft-dodging yeshiva student|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Haredim-riot-over-arrest-of-pub-going-draft-dodging-yeshiva-student-453446|website=Jerusalem Post|date=8 May 2016 }}</ref> have received criticism from within the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] community.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kahane|first1=Meir|title=And the Lichen|url=http://mkwords.com/text/index.php?i=67&a=And%20the%20Lichen|website=mkwords.com}}</ref>

===Draft evasion among celebrities===
Some Israeli celebrities have evaded military service national service to further their careers. A 2007 incident that garnered international headlines focused on revelations in the press that Israeli ''[[Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue]]'' cover model [[Bar Refaeli]] had married a family friend in 2004 and divorced him soon after in order to avoid military service.<ref name=IDF>{{cite news|title = Dodging IDF paid off big time| newspaper=Ynetnews |date = 2 October 2007|url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3455802,00.html|access-date = 2008-08-15}}</ref>  Refaeli received widespread criticism, including from the Israeli Forum for the Promotion of Equal Share,<ref name=Ynet>{{cite news|title = Bar Refaeli: IDF's new 'enlistment officer'| newspaper=Ynetnews |date = 8 May 2008|url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540565,00.html|access-date = 2008-08-15| last1=Weiss | first1=Reuven }}</ref> to which she responded, "I really wanted to serve in the IDF, but I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time. That's just the way it is, celebrities have other needs. I hope my case has influenced the army."<ref>[http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/54268,news,israeli-models-refaeli-and-ginzburg-at-war-over-national-service Israeli models Refaeli and Ginzburg at war over IDF] ''The First Post''</ref>  In a compromise to avoid potential boycotts of companies Refaeli works with, she agreed to visit injured IDF soldiers on visits to Israel and encourage enlistment in the army.<ref name=Ynet/>  The incident made headlines again in October 2009 when fellow Israeli model [[Esti Ginzburg]] criticized Refaeli in an interview with Israeli newspaper ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'', reigniting arguments over the ease with which conscription can be dodged.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-supermodels-in-catwalk-spat-over-draftdodging-1797311.html Israeli supermodels in catwalk spat over draft-dodging] ''The Independent''</ref>

===Response to draft evasion===
Almost all the political factions in Israel have condemned refusal to serve on [[ideological]] grounds, using terms such as ''dangerous'' and ''undemocratic''. The conscientious objectors, or refuseniks as they call themselves, found support within left-wing and the Arab parties, [[Hadash]], [[Balad (Israel)|Balad]], [[United Arab List|Raam]] and parts of [[Meretz]] (Zehava Galon, Roman Bronfman and [[Shulamit Aloni]]). The [[Labor Party (Israel)|Israeli Labor Party]] and other Meretz members have condemned the refuseniks and said that although their protests against the occupation are justified and understandable, the means they are taking to manifest it are wrong. Some major left-wing politicians expressed the fear that left-oriented refusal to serve in the territories will lend legitimacy to right-oriented refusal to remove settlements. Right wing politicians have claimed that the refuseniks' actions are helping the enemies of Israel in their anti-Israeli incitement. Some have even accused the refuseniks of [[treason]] during wartime. This viewpoint was given some support when the book ''The Seventh War'', by [[Avi Yisacharov]] and [[Amos Harel]] was published in 2004; it contains extensive interviews with [[Hamas]] leaders, at least one of whom explicitly stated that the actions of the [[#The commandos' letter|commandos']] and [[#The pilots' letter|pilots']] letters encouraged to promote and continue the use of [[suicide bombers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=68735|title=Hamas: Left-Wing Encouraged Us to Attack|work=Arutz Sheva|date=9 September 2004 }}</ref>

The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled in 2002 that refusal to serve was legal on the grounds of unqualified pacifism, but "selective refusal" which accepted some duties and not others was illegal. The court said that allowing selective refusal would "weaken the ties that bind us as a nation". The court also said that the refusal to serve in the territories is selective refusal and not [[conscientious objection]].<ref>[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2347681,00.html בית המשפט דחה עתירת סרבני השטחים] אפרת וייס, 30 בדצמבר 2002 (אתר ווי נט)</ref><ref>[https://supremedecisions.court.gov.il/Home/Download?path=HebrewVerdicts\02/220/076/a06&fileName=02076220.a06&type=4 בג"ץ 7622/02 דוד זונשיין ואחרים נ' הפרקליט הצבאי הראשי, ניתן בתאריך כ"ה בטבת תשס"ג, 30 בדצמבר] </ref>

From 1998 to 2000, 9.5% of applicants who filed for an exemption from service for conscientious reasons were granted it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/pacifists-are-fighting-hard-against-the-draft-1.51499|title=Pacifists are fighting hard against the draft|date=3 March 2002|work=Haaretz.com}}</ref>

On January 4, 2004, a military tribunal imposed one-year prison terms on five young activists who refused to enlist in the IDF. The court accepted that the five acted in accordance with their conscience but "ruled that they did not refuse to serve as individuals, but rather as a group, with the explicit goal of bringing about a change in Israeli policy in the territories. As such, the court ruled, their action strayed from the norms of classic conscientious objection into the realm of civil disobedience" (''Haaretz'').{{full citation needed|date=August 2022}}

== History ==
===Origins===
In [[Mandatory Palestine]] during [[World War II]], when many military-age Jews from the [[Yishuv]] were joining the British military, a few conscientious objectors refused, and wrote to the headquarters of [[War Resisters' International]] in [[London]] about the [[social pressure]] they faced. A Palestine branch of War Resisters' International was founded in 1946 by one such conscientious objector, David Engel, who in 1943 had been expelled from [[Kfar Ruppin]] for refusing to enlist in the British Army. He reported that his group initially had about 40 members.<ref name=Simoni>{{cite journal | author = Marcella Simoni | title = "Hello pacifist" War Resisters in Israel's First Decade | journal = Quest. Issues in Contemporary Jewish History. Journal of Fondazione CDEC | issue = 5 | year = 2013 | url = http://www.quest-cdecjournal.it/focus.php?id=335}}</ref> In 1948, the year of Israel's declaration of independence, another member of the group, Joseph Abileah, was the first conscientious objector to be put on trial before a military court for refusing to serve in the IDF.<ref name=Simoni/> He was excused from service in the army on the grounds of ill health, which according to him was a face-saving measure.<ref name=Simoni/> A 1954 report in [[Haaretz]] judged the size of the group to be about 100.<ref name=Simoni/> The group's greatest failure was to not have conscientious objection recognised in law.<ref name=Simoni/>  In general, persons who made their objections known before being called up were treated more leniently than those to objected after receiving their call-up notice.<ref name=Simoni/> Members of the group held a variety of political opinions beside their common pacifism; while some were anti-Zionist most were not.<ref name=Simoni/>

[[File:Israel refusniks.jpg|thumb|Israeli ''refusniks'' at a demonstration]]
Although Israel has mandatory [[conscription]], some Israelis do not serve in the military. [[Israeli Arab]]s are not drafted, though they may enlist, and increasing numbers serve voluntarily including at very senior level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/arab-israelis-are-joining-idf-growing-numbers-officials-n724586|title=Why this Muslim Arab joined Israel's military|website=NBC News|date=26 February 2017 }}</ref> [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] Jews were exempt, so long as they did study in [[yeshiva]]s (up to a maximum of 62,500 individuals), based on an arrangement worked out with [[David Ben-Gurion]] in 1948 and the [[Tal Law]], though small numbers volunteer to serve in the IDF, especially in the [[Netzah Yehuda Battalion]]. The exemption lapsed on August 1, 2012, after being struck down by the Israeli Supreme Court in April 2012. [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] women can avoid service on the basis of their religion upon filing certain paperwork. After becoming officially exempt, religious women may choose to do national service work instead, although this is not compulsory.  Many people who are "unfit" or "unqualified", either mentally or physically, are also exempt. Military service can often be postponed for further education—either college or university, or technical studies.  Finally, a number of people refuse to serve because of [[pacifist]] views, because they believe the IDF is not an army of defense,<ref>[[Gideon Levy]] with Alex Levac, [http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.616567 'A different brand of refusenik,'] ''[[Haaretz]]'' 18 September 2014.</ref> or refuse certain orders based on their disagreement with government policy.

In February 2004, Israeli Chief of Personnel Major-General [[Gil Regev]] told a [[Knesset]] committee that the number of soldiers refusing to serve in the territories had dramatically decreased in 2003 despite the increase in the number of high-profile refusals. He said that eighteen reserve soldiers and eight officers had been imprisoned for refusal in 2003 compared to 100 reservists and 29 officers in 2002, a decrease of 80%. Members of the refusers' organization ''[[Yesh Gvul]]'' claimed in reply that actually 76 people, including eleven officers, had been jailed for refusal in 2003. They also said that 79 soldiers and eighteen officers had added their names to the ''Courage to Refuse'' letter in 2003, and that the number of high-school ''refuseniks'' had risen to 500.

The first well-known instance of an individual refusing to serve in the IDF occurred in 1954 when [[Amnon Zichroni]], a lawyer, asked to be released from military service as a pacifist. Initially, then Minister of Defense [[Pinhas Lavon]] refused to release Zichroni, though he was eventually discharged from the army reserves.

===''Shministim'' movement===
On April 28, 1970, a group of high school seniors about to be drafted sent a letter to [[Prime Minister]] [[Golda Meir]] expressing their reservation about the occupation of the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], the [[War of Attrition]] and the government's failure to take steps to avoid conflict. In 1987, a new group was formed, also made up of high school students intent on refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories. They gave themselves the name that the press used to dub the previous effort – 'Shministim' ({{Langx|he|שמיניסטים|lit=twelfth graders}}").  In 2001, a high-school refusers movement – also called ''Shministim'' followed in their stead. Over 3,000 Israeli high school students are currently members of Shministim. {{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}. A smaller number of them have also signed a public letter in which they state their intent to refuse any service in the army. Such a behaviour has usually resulted in repeated jail sentences of several weeks.  One of the most prominent ''Shiministim'' that went to jail is [[Omer Goldman]]. Her case received special attention since her father used to be one of the highest ranking [[Mossad]] officers.

On December 18, 2008, a worldwide campaign was launched in order to request the freedom of ''Shministim'', including the delivery of more than forty thousand letters, to Israeli embassies, appealing for her cause.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/195330|title=1,200 שמיניסטים בעצומה בעד גיוס|work=ערוץ 7|date=14 October 2009 }}</ref>

===''Yesh Gvul'' movement===
''[[Yesh Gvul]]'' (Hebrew: {{Lang|he|יש גבול}}, can be translated as "there is a limit"  or "the border exists") is a movement founded in 1982 at the outbreak of the [[1982 Lebanon War|Lebanon War]] by reservists who refused to serve in [[Lebanon]]. A petition, delivered to Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]] and Defense Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] was signed by 3,000 reservists, some of whom were [[court martial]]ed and served time in [[military prison]] for refusing to obey orders. Currently, it sees its main role as "backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yeshgvul.org/about_e.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015135946/http://www.yeshgvul.org/about_e.asp|url-status=usurped|title=Yesh Gvul|archive-date=October 15, 2006}}</ref>  It also engages in [[human rights]] activities, such as petitioning British courts to issue arrest warrants for IDF officers accused of human rights abuses and [[war crimes]].<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ArticleNews.jhtml?itemNo=624894&contrassID=13&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0 ''Haaretz''] War crimes prosecution overseas: How should Israel respond?</ref>

In the Adam Keller Court Martial in April–May 1988, Reserve Corporal [[Adam Keller]] was charged with insubordination and spreading propaganda harmful to military discipline. While on active military duty he had written on 117 tanks and other military vehicles graffiti with the text: "Soldiers of the IDF, refuse to be occupiers and oppressors, refuse to serve in the occupied territories!"<ref>'I realised the stupidity of it' – article in [[The Guardian]], Tuesday March 11, 2003 [http://www.refusingtokill.net/Israel/Irealisedthestupidityofit.htm]</ref> as well as placing on electricity pylons in the military camp where he was serving—and on inside doors of the stalls in the officers' toilet—stickers with the slogans "Down with the occupation!". Keller was sentenced to three months imprisonment although the maximum penalty could have been six years, three for each of the charges. Keller was an active member of Yesh Gvul, but declared that he had operated on his own. For its part, the movement did not take responsibility for his act, but did provide his wife with the monetary support given to the families of refusers.

===''Courage to Refuse'' group===
In January 2002, 51 reserve soldiers and officers signed a "Combat Troops' Letter" or "Combatants' Letter"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seruv.org/english/combatants_letter.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060226163902/http://www.seruv.org/english/combatants_letter.asp|url-status=dead|title='The Commandos have Courage to Refuse,'|archive-date=February 26, 2006}}</ref> in which they declared their refusal "to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people." They established the group, [[Ometz LeSarev]], which distinguishes itself by using conspicuously [[Zionism|Zionist]] [[discourse]]: "Refusal to serve in the Territories is Zionism." 633 combatants from all units of the IDF and from all sectors of the Israeli society have since signed the letter.

===Pilots' letter incident===
"The pilots' letter," published on September 24, 2003, was signed by 27 reserve and active duty pilots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20031013/infact |title=In Fact... (THE ISRAELI PEACE MOVEMENT TAKES FLIGHT) |author=[[The Nation]] |date=<!-- Online: September 23, 2003; Print: --> October 13, 2003|publisher=[[The Nation]] |access-date=2010-01-11}}</ref> One of the signatories was the famous pilot Brigadier General (res.) [[Yiftah Spector]]. The letter was precipitated by the [[targeted killing]] of [[Salah Shehade]], leader of [[Hamas]]'s militant wing, who was killed, along with 14 others, by a one-ton bomb dropped on his residential building.  Pilots decried the large number of civilian casualties caused by Israel's targeted killings as violating the military's ethics code.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/03/israel | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=We're air force pilots, not mafia. We don't take revenge | first=Chris | last=McGreal | date=December 3, 2003}}</ref>  In their letter, the pilots stated:<blockquote>We, veteran and active pilots alike, who served and still serve the state of Israel for long weeks every year, are opposed to carrying out attack orders that are illegal and immoral of the type the state of Israel has been conducting in the territories.  We, who were raised to love the state of Israel and contribute to the Zionist enterprise, refuse to take part in Air Force attacks on civilian population centers. We, for whom the Israel Defense Forces and the Air Force are an inalienable part of ourselves, refuse to continue to harm innocent civilians.  These actions are illegal and immoral, and are a direct result of the ongoing occupation which is corrupting all of Israeli society. Perpetuation of the occupation is fatally harming the security of the state of Israel and its moral strength.<ref>[http://www.seruv.org.il/english/article.asp?msgid=55&type=news Courage to Refuse] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308102144/http://www.seruv.org.il/english/article.asp?msgid=55&type=news |date=2010-03-08 }} Pilots letter</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfjfp.org/BackgroundW/refusenik_pilots.htm |title=Refuseniks - pilots |website=www.jfjfp.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031011094058/http://www.jfjfp.org/BackgroundW/refusenik_pilots.htm |archive-date=2003-10-11}} </ref></blockquote>The signatories clarified that they do not reject military service in the IDF, only targeted killings of individuals, declaring: "We ... shall continue to serve in the Israel Defense Forces and the Air Force for every mission in defense of the state of Israel."

In response, the Chief of Staff announced that the pilots would be grounded and will no longer be allowed to train cadets in the country's flight school.<ref name=GM01>{{cite news|last=McGreal|first=Chris|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/03/israel|title='We're air force pilots, not mafia. We don't take revenge'|date=2003-12-03|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In response to their letter, hundreds of [[Israeli Air Force|IAF]] pilots signed a petition denouncing the pilots' letter and their refusal to serve. Because of the harsh response, several of the pilots who originally signed the letter reneged and removed their signatures; after more than 30 signed, four later recanted. One, an El Al pilot, was threatened with dismissal and another lost his civilian job.<ref name=GM01/>

===Commandos' letter incident===
This letter, dated December 2003, was signed by 13 reservists of [[Sayeret Matkal]], an elite commando unit, serving in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (nine commandos in Sayeret Matkal, two soldiers who had been removed from reserve duty because of prior refusals to serve there, and two additional combatant soldiers). Their letter, addressed to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, stated:<ref>[http://www.seruv.org.il/english/news_item.asp?msgid=85 'The Commandos have Courage to Refuse,'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920101740/http://www.seruv.org.il/english/news_item.asp?msgid=85 |date=2005-09-20 }} 2003</ref><blockquote>We shall no longer lend a hand in the occupation of the territories.  We shall no longer take part in the deprivation of basic human rights from millions of Palestinians.  We shall no longer serve as a shield in the crusade of the settlements.  We shall no longer corrupt our moral character in missions of oppression.  We shall no longer deny our responsibility as soldiers of the Israeli DEFENSE force.</blockquote>

===Mateh Chomat Magen group===
There are some Israeli rabbis, former generals and public figures who call on soldiers to refuse orders to dismantle [[Israeli settlement]]s and remove their residents. One of those who call soldiers to refuse removal order is [[Uri Elitzur]], a publicist and former civil servant. Eliztur claims that settlers-removal order is an illegal order, and therefore soldiers must refuse to obey it. He used the Hebrew term {{Lang|he|פקודה בלתי חוקית בעליל}} (literally, a clearly illegal order), which is a judicial term for an order that a soldier ''must'' refuse, coined in relation to the [[Kafr Qasim massacre]]. He used a [[Yossi Sarid]] (a left-wing politician from [[Meretz]]) quotation that an order to transfer Palestinians should be resisted by any means, as a legitimation to a total and even semi-violent resistance against transfer of settlers. In June 2004, MKs [[Effi Eitam]] and [[Aryeh Eldad]] ([[National Union (Israel)|National Union]]) initiated a law bill called "Unity of the Military Law". The law says that only [[Israeli police]] (including [[Israel Border Police|Border Police]]) officers could engage in the removal of Jewish settlements, and soldiers could not. In 2005, as a reaction to the [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan]], a group called "Mateh Chomat Magen" (the name referring to [[Operation Defensive Shield]]) published a letter with 10,000 signatures of soldiers who signed a petition saying that they would refuse to uproot and remove Israeli settlements.

=== September 2014 Unit 8200 letter ===
In what ''[[The New York Times]]'' called, "the first public collective refusal by intelligence officers rather than combat troops"<ref name="JRudoren" /> to serve, on September 12, 43 veteran reserve army mid-ranking officers and soldiers (33 soldiers and 10 officers, including a major and two captains, mostly in their late 20s and 30s)<ref name="JRudoren" /><ref name="GCohen" >Gili Cohen, [http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.615498 'Reservists from elite IDF intel unit refuse to serve over Palestinian 'persecution','] ''[[Haaretz]]'' 12 September 2014.</ref><ref name=" i24news" /> in the IDF's top intelligence electronic surveillance corps, [[Unit 8200]],<ref name="Reuters" /> Israel's equivalent to the [[NSA]],<ref name=" i24news" /> published a letter in Israel's most widely read newspaper, ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'', directed to Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], the IDF Chief of Staff [[Benny Gantz]], [[Moshe Ya'alon]]<ref name=" i24news" /> and [[Aviv Kochavi]],<ref name=" i24news" >[http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/43519-140912-43-reservists-refuse-to-serve-protest-abuse '43 reservists refuse to serve, protest 'abuse','] [[i24news]] 12 September 2014.</ref> the [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)|head of Military Intelligence]], in which they registered their refusal to participate, on the grounds of conscience, in any action designed to "harm the Palestinian population in the West Bank."<ref name="JRudoren" >Jodi Rudoren,[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/middleeast/elite-israeli-officers-decry-treatment-of-palestinians.html 'Veterans of Elite Israeli Unit Refuse Reserve Duty, Citing Treatment of Palestinians,'] ''[[The New York Times]]'' 12 September 2014.</ref> It took roughly a year to gather all of the signatures,<ref name="GCohen" /> and its publication was delayed by the war in Gaza until hostilities ceased in order not to be seen as attacking the army in wartime.<ref>Joshua Mitnick, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/israel-news/turning-their-backs-israeli-army&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s 'Turning Their Backs On The Israeli Army ,'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019102843/http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/israel-news/turning-their-backs-israeli-army%26rct%3Dj%26frm%3D1%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds |date=2014-10-19 }} [[The Jewish Week]] 17 September 2014.</ref> According to the highest-ranking signatory, many other members of Unit 8200 support their stand, but did not add their names for fear of reactions and the personal price their involvement would exact.<ref name="EL" >Elior Levy, [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570337,00.html 'Intel troops: Why we won't serve in occupied territory,'] [[Ynet]] 12 September 2014.</ref> Ten of the 43 belonged to the "circle of control" in the unit.<ref name="ElioL" />

The 43 decried the use of espionage to set up airstrikes that have inflicted casualties among civilians.<ref name="Reuters" /> The letter, originally written before the recent [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]],<ref>[http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0912/643218-israel/ "43 Israel reservists refuse to serve, protest 'abuses'"], [[RTÉ News and Current Affairs|RTÉ News]], 12 September 2014.</ref> was initially reported to be unrelated to it,<ref name="JP" /> but does mention "the collective punishment of residents in Gaza", that war being, according to one of the group, "just another chapter in this cycle of violence", and calls on the Israeli public to speak up against injustices.<ref name="JRudoren"/> While the incidents they allude to have no relation to [[Operation Protective Edge]], in which none participated, several avoided service during the 2014 war in Gaza by refusing to answer a call to do reserve duty, employing a variety of excuses.<ref name="EL" /> In the light of that war, the refuseniks said they would refuse to enlist if called upon to serve in the reserve, and none had served during the July–August Gaza war.<ref>Benny Avni, [http://www.newsweek.com/israeli-spies-condemn-routine-bugging-palestinians-270654 "Israeli Spies Condemn Routine Bugging of Palestinians"], ''[[Newsweek]]'', 15 September 2014.</ref>

In their view, espionage that probed for information of sexual preferences or health problems that might prove useful in turning people into informants for Israel,<ref name="Reuters" />  invaded the privacy of a people under occupation, sought to exercise control over innocent Palestinian civilians, turn people into collaborators and stir divisiveness and dissension among Palestinians in the West Bank. One of the undersigned said that, while affirming their commitment to continue gathering intelligence on enemy states, they found themselves morally obliged not engage in intelligence gathering whose "main objective is to maintain the military rule in the West Bank".<ref>Adiv Sternman, [http://www.timesofisrael.com/reservists-from-top-intel-unit-refuse-to-operate-against-palestinians/ "Reservists from top intel unit refuse to ‘operate against Palestinians’"], ''[[The Times of Israel]]'', 12 September 2014.</ref> The soldiers also alleged that cases existed where IDF intelligence hindered just trials for defendants, from whom evidence in the prosecution's hands was withheld, in military courts.<ref>Elior Levy, [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570256,00.html "IDF intelligence soldiers: We won't work against innocent Palestinians"], [[Ynet]], 12 September 2014.</ref> According to the undersigned trainees for the unit are led to believe that there is no such thing as a clearly illegal order within Unit 8200.<ref name="EL" />

Shortly after, 200 other reservists signed a counter protest stating:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185051|title=Counter-Letter Published Against Leftist Soldiers |first1=Tova |last1=Dvorin |work=Arutz Sheva|date=12 September 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016160136/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185051 |archive-date= 2021-10-16 }}</ref><blockquote>We are veterans of Unit 8200, soldiers and reserve soldiers, past and present, who wish to express shock, disgust and total renouncement of the letter written by our fellow soldiers, who chose political refusal over our unit,...We regret that our friends make cynical use of politics in their legal and moral duty to serve in the reserve unit, which in our eyes constitutes the highest honor, and seek [instead] to undermine the activities and achievements in the unit's defense of the country and its people.</blockquote>Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon criticized the letter by saying "I know Unit 8200 from my time as head of Military Intelligence and know the massive extent which their efforts play in Israel's security. They soldiers and officers there are doing God's work, night and day. 8200 preserves Israel's existence. The attempt to harm it and its work, through calls to refuse to report for duty, based on claims that are incongruent with the unit's ways and the values of its soldiers, is a base and distasteful attempt to aid the hateful and dishonest anti-legitimization campaign being led around the world against Israel and the IDF." Opposition leader and head of the Labor Party [[Isaac Herzog]], who served as a major in the 8200 unit, also hailed its work and said he was opposed to, and repulsed by, so-called "conscientious objectors." He said that "this unit and its activities are essential not just in time of war, but especially in times of peace," adding that he believed the way in which the members went about voicing their objections was harmful and that Israeli citizens would ultimately pay the price. Knesset Speaker [[Yuli Edelstein]] said that the signatories had "done a great service to haters of Israel. This is a clear political statement against the IDF and published just as harsh criticisms with no basis or understanding of our situation are being thrown at us." Labor MK [[Shelly Yachimovich]] called them "cowards."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570559,00.html |title=Netanyahu backs intel unit, as Ya'alon slams intel officers' letter |website=Ynet |date=13 Sep 2014 |first1=Elior |last1=Levy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704060734/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570559,00.html |archive-date= 2024-07-04 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-spox-condemns-objectors-assures-sharp-punishment/ IDF condemns objectors, promises ‘sharp’ punishment] Times of Israel, 14 Sept 2014</ref>

One refusnik said his decision arose from a gradual realization that he was engaged in the kind of work that usually makes people shudder and is associated with what intelligence services do in non-democratic regimes.<ref name="Beaumont" /> A captain in the group stated that a good deal of what the IDF is not about 'defense', but consists in military rule over another people in the [[Palestinian territories|Occupied Palestinian territories]].<ref name="Beaumont" /> A further witness said that Palestinians lacked 'legal protections from harassment, extortion and injury.'<ref name="JRudoren" /> One testified that "any information that might enable extortion of an individual is considered relevant information".<ref name="Cooper" >Hayden Cooper,[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-13/israeli-soldiers-refuse-to-spy-on-palestinians/5741492 'Israeli soldiers from elite wire-tapping unit refuse to use 'extortion', 'blackmail' on Palestinians,'] [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] 13 September 2014.</ref> A captain said his outlook was changed after viewing [[The Lives of Others]], dealing with the way the East German [[Stasi]] unit pried into the private lives of citizens.<ref name="JRudoren" /> Another said a turning point occurred when he watched at the unit's headquarters as a figure in an orchard was blown up in an airstrike, and, when the smoke cleared they could see his mother running to the body of what was evidently then just a small boy.<ref name="JRudoren" /> Another officer spoke of an incident at the outset of [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Operation Cast Lead]] where [[Gaza War (2008–09)#Gazan police|89 young policeman at their graduation ceremony]] were killed in a bomb strike,<ref name="EL" /> which he complained to his superior was both "morally unsound and problematic", time being lost killing police on parade instead of attacking rocket sites and arsenals.<ref name="EL" /> His remark was passed on, but no reply received.<ref name="Cooper" /> The witness also mentioned the targeted assassination of [[Nizar Rayan]], which killed 18 members of his family, and successive attempts to kill Hamas leaders. In the operational room disappointment was expressed not at civilians being killed arbitrarily, but that they had missed their targets.<ref name="Cooper" /> The source further asserted that Israel let people requiring medical treatment die unless they were forthcoming about a relative who was on the wanted list.<ref name="Cooper" /> Another incident related concerns an operation where it was surmised that a person on their wanted list appeared to be standing by a weapons warehouse in Gaza, the time and location suggested it would be him, and he was assassinated. The victim turned out to be a child.<ref name="Cooper" /> Another witness said that booty taken during arrest operations was stacked in a storeroom, photos, flags, weapon parts, books, Qurans, jewellery, and soldiers were told they could take whatever they liked out of this Palestinian memorabilia, the idea being to 'poison the students'.<ref name="Cooper" />

Testimonies concerning specific incidents were also listed in the letter, which, IDF spokesman Michael Lerner said, would be examined.<ref name="JRudoren" /> One particular allegation, made by a captain, was that during the [[Al-Aqsa Intifada]], in 2003, the IDF routinely bombed buildings at night as a response to terrorist attacks. On the occasion of the [[Neve Shaanan Street bombing]] by [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]], a harsher response was decided on, involving the bombing of a [[Fatah]] building, though Fatah was known to be unconnected to the terroristic incident. In addition that Fatah target had no military function, but was a welfare centre where paychecks were doled out. Breaking precedent with the past, the operation was designed to hit the building, not when it was empty, but when people were inside to ensure that deaths would occur. Signalling that people were inside the building would give a green light for executing the bombing.<ref name="EL" /> In what became known as the Lieutenant A. Affair,<ref name="Cooper" /> a lieutenant of the unit refused on principle to give the green light for the attack. The media misrepresented the proposed action as a [[Targeted killings by Israel Defense Forces|targeted killing]]. The officer was described within the unit as 'confused'—he was kicked out of his job, and given administrative duties<ref name="EL" /> and the message was that there was no such thing as an illegal order in that unit.<ref name="Beaumont" /> One of the 43 said he had access to the inquiry, and that it was faked, making out that the lieutenant had been ordered to ensure the targeted building was empty, which, he stated, was the opposite of the truth.<ref name="Cooper" /> Another interviewee contrasted the huge outcry caused by the 14 collateral civilian casualties in the targeted assassination of [[Salah Shehade]] in 2002 with the insouciance that met the continual bombing of buildings, with hundreds of innocent deaths, during the summer conflict with Gaza.<ref name="JRudoren" /><ref name="Beaumont" /> One refusnik's father had suffered at the hands of Argentina's military junta under its [[Dirty War]] and drew a comparison, which he said was only partial, between intelligence gathering for the army and its consequences there, and what Palestinians can face under Israeli military rule.<ref name="Beaumont" /> A number of signatories expressed regret for their collaboration in providing input for airstrikes prior to the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict that, while targeting Hamas military commanders, also killed innocent bystanders.<ref name="JP" /> Working in Unit 8200 is a 'coveted pipeline' to career advancement in Israeli's high-technology industries.<ref name="JRudoren" />

The gesture has been interpreted as "an unprecedented rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security policies."<ref name="Reuters" >Dan Williams,[https://web.archive.org/web/20160307095837/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-palestinians-israel-wiretappers-idUKKBN0H70LJ20140912 'Wiretaps against Palestinians are wrong, Israeli ex-spies tell Netanyahu,'] [[Reuters]] 2 September 2014.</ref> Three signatories clarified that the letter was not just related to the recent Israel–Gaza conflict, but referred to the 'normal' circumstances of Israel's occupation.<ref name="Beaumont" >Peter Beaumont,[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/12/israel-unit-8200-refuseniks-transcript-interview 'Israel’s Unit 8200 refuseniks: ‘you can’t run from responsibility’,'] [[The Guardian]] 12 September 2014.</ref> The letter, according to Elior Levy, has tapped into wider concerns regarding the ethics of state surveillance, in the wake of [[Edward Snowden]]'s [[Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)|NSA leaks]].<ref name="ELevy" />

The IDF dismissed the letter as a "publicity stunt by a small fringe",<ref name="ELevy" >Elior Levy,[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570340,00.html 'Palestinians hail 8200 protest letter: Proof some Israelis reject occupation ,'] [[Ynet]], 12 September 2014.</ref> and a defense spokesman stated that those who work for Unit 8200 personnel were required to observe ethical standards "[[Purity of arms|without rival in the intelligence community in Israel or the world]]", and that the group's going public when internal mechanisms existed to handle complaints undermined the seriousness of their assertions.<ref name="Reuters" /> All 43 are expected to be dishonorably discharged from the IDF.<ref name="JP">[http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Reservists-from-elite-IDF-intelligence-unit-say-they-refuse-to-serve-in-West-Bank-375189 "Report: IDF to discharge reservists from elite intel unit who refuse to serve in West Bank"]. ''[[Jerusalem Post]]'', 12 September 2014.</ref>

Former head of 8200, Brigadier General Hanan Gefen, commented:<ref name="i24news" />
<blockquote>If I was the unit's commander I would have terminated their [protesters] service, court-marshalled them, and ask for severe punishment. They used confidential information, which they privy to during their service, to promote their political agenda.</blockquote>
An IDF spokesperson said that the 43 would be severely disciplined and that there was no place for refusal in the IDF.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.615674 'IDF spokesperson: Discipline of Unit 8200 refuseniks will be sharp and clear,'] ''[[Haaretz]]'' 14 September 2014.</ref>

Over 200 other reservists in the Unit denounced the letter as shameful, and that they had revealed matters taking place within a top secret unit for political reasons. Everything there is done, they aver, in conformity with international and IDF ethics.<ref name="ElioL" >[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4570736,00.html 'Unit 8200 reservists react to refusal letter: You should be ashamed,'] [[Ynet]] 14 September 2014.</ref>

In an op-ed, [[Gideon Levy]] praised the 'courage' and ethics of an elite group which, he claimed, when interviewed on radio and television, was dismissed by commentators in unison with descriptive language ranging from "trippy," "scandalous," "negligible," to "spoiled brats," "politicos" and "lefties".<ref>[[Gideon Levy]], [http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.615592 'Mutiny in the Israeli Stasi: exposing the occupation's worst filth,'] ''[[Haaretz]]'' 14 September 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-revolt-in-the-stasi-1.5264485|title=Mutiny in the Israeli Stasi: Exposing the Occupation's Worst Filth|last=Levy|first=Gideon|date=14 September 2014|work=Haaretz|language=en}}</ref>

=== 2023 "Youth Against Dictatorship" letter ===
In September 2023, over 200 Israeli youth released an open letter entitled [[Youth Against Dictatorship]] announcing that they would refuse to serve.<ref>{{Cite news |title='The Overhaul Opened Their Eyes': Israeli Youth Publicly Refuse Draft |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-09-04/ty-article/.premium/we-wont-serve-the-dictatorship-in-the-west-bank-israeli-youth-publicly-refuse-draft/0000018a-5e9e-d845-adfe-fefee2380000 |access-date=2023-09-08}}</ref>

On December 26, 2023, Israeli teen Tal Mitnick was sentenced to 30 days in jail for refusing the draft, refusing to participate in the [[Gaza war]], which he condemned as "a revenge campaign... not only against Hamas, but against all Palestinian people." Mitnick's comments about his actions were shared by Mesarvot, which is one of several support groups for conscientious objectors to the IDF or refuseniks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli Teen Jailed for Refusing to Take Part in Army's 'Criminal Attack' on Gaza |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/conscientious-objector-israel |access-date=2023-12-28 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Basu |first=Brishti |date=29 December 2023 |title=Israeli teen jailed for refusing to serve in IDF over opposition to war in Gaza |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israeli-teen-arrested-refusing-idf-gaza-1.7070628 |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=CBC}}</ref> In February 2024, Sofia Orr was also jailed for refusing to serve in the IDF, explaining that she had made the decision when she was 15 because "if I enlisted, I would be taking part in and normalizing a decades-long cycle of violence".<ref name=abc>{{cite news |title=As her dad watched on, 18yo Sofia told the IDF she could not fight in Gaza. Then she went to jail |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-02/young-israelis-risking-prison-time-rather-than-fighting-idf-gaza/103619582 |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=ABC News |date=1 April 2024 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sofia Orr's fight against Israel's mandatory military service |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-30/sofia-orr-s-fight-against-israel-s-mandatory-military-service/103650962 |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=www.abc.net.au |date=29 March 2024 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Reiff |first1=Ben |title='People say I'm naive, antisemitic, a traitor' |url=https://www.972mag.com/sofia-orr-conscientious-objector-israeli-army/ |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=+972 Magazine |date=26 February 2024}}</ref> Another war refuser, Ariel Davidod, declared his refused to serve in October 2023 but was not jailed.<ref name="abc" />

=== November 2024 Ultra-Orthodox arrest warrants ===
In mid November 2024 it was announced that Israeli military officials had issued 1,126 arrest warrants for [[Haredi Judaism|ultra-Orthodox Jewish]] conscripts who had not responded to drafting orders. [[Brigadier general|Brigadier General]] Shay Tayeb who announced the warrants also stated that those who continued to not cooperate would be summed immediately or declared a draft dodger and banned from foreign travel and risk of arrest.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michaelis |first=Tamar |date=2024-11-19 |title=Israel issues more than 1,000 arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox draft avoiders |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/19/middleeast/israel-arrest-warrants-ultra-orthodox-draft-intl-latam/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The warrants come after a June 2024 ruling by the [[Supreme Court of Israel|Israeli Supreme Court]] stating that the government must enlist draft-aged ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, who had been previously [[Exemption from military service in Israel|exempt]] in order to study the Torah. The ruling had caused officials in the ultra-Orthodox [[Shas|Shas party]] to urge potential conscripts in July 2024 to ignore any call-ups from the IDF and protests which at least one resulted in protestors attacking both law enforcement and the vehicle of Minister [[Yitzhak Goldknopf]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Izso |first=Lauren |last2=Atay Alam |first2=Hande |date=2024-06-30 |title=Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters attack Israeli minister’s car amid anger at military draft ruling |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/30/middleeast/ultra-orthodox-jews-protest-israel-draft-intl-latam |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Izso |first=Lauren |last2=Lister |first2=Tim |date=2024-07-17 |title=Ultra-Orthodox party in Israel urges young Haredi men to resist draft |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/middleeast/ultra-orthodox-jews-boycott-israel-military-intl-latam |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

===Early 2025 reservist non attendance===
In early 2025 multiple Israeli news outlets reported that a significant number of reservists, according to some estimates over 100,000, had ceased to show up for duty following the collapse in the ceasefire. Refuser leader {{ill|Ishai Menuchin|he|ישי מנוחין}} stated that if the figures are accurate, "It means the government will have a problem continuing the war." [[+972 Magazine]] reports that while many reservists are facing an accumulating loss of income since October 2023 and most "have no real ideological objection to the war but rather have grown demoralized, weary, or fed up that it is dragging on for so long", others have ethical objections to the war. Unlike conscripts, punishment for reservist non attendance is less likely,<ref name="972Mag110425"/> Menuchin stated he is only aware of one case and the reservist received a much more lenient sentence than younger refusers.<ref name="972Mag110425">{{cite news |last1=Reiff |first1=Ben |title=The Israeli army is facing its biggest refusal crisis in decades |url=https://www.972mag.com/israeli-army-refusal-crisis-gaza-war/ |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=+972 Magazine |date=11 April 2025 |quote=They're afraid to put refusers in prison, because if they do, it could bury the model of the people's army...it suffices with the army dismissing a few reservists...}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Israeli peace camp]]
* [[Sayeret Matkal#The 2003 dissidents|Sayeret Matkal]]
* [[Breaking the Silence (non-governmental organization)|Breaking the Silence]]
* [[Mesarvot]]
* [[Non-recruitment in Israel]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.omergoldman.com/ Omer Goldman Shministim and Daughter of Deputy Director of Mossad Official Website: "People who use violence are wrong!"  (In English with video and radio interviews including kidnapping/torture of Palestinian children and IDF)]
*[https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/ IDF Soldiers Unite For Peace and explain the nature of their missions (In English)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050816132436/http://www.tayasim.org.il/ Tayasim (Pilots: in Hebrew)]
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20040222030533/http://www.yeshgvul.org/ Yesh Gvul (There is a Limit/Border)]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070805043250/http://www.seruv.org.il/english/default.asp Seruv (Courage to Refuse)]
*[https://newprofile.org/ New Profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031205013728/http://www.refusersolidarity.net/default.asp?content=courtmartials Refuser Solidarity]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041010195540/http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE150491999 Amnesty International article on Israeli conscientious objectors]
* Supreme Court of Israel's ruling in the case of the refuseniks:  [https://web.archive.org/web/20030303232303/http://62.90.71.124/files/02/220/076/a06/02076220.a06.htm Full text in Hebrew].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061020234230/https://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/news/Refusniks.html The refusal movement during the second Lebanon war]
*[http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3092/ "An Israeli Refusenik's Good Fight", by Robert Hirschfield]
*[http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2463599.htm "Why I refuse to fight in Gaza", by Yitzchak Ben Mocha]
*[https://archive.today/20091019185224/http://www.hlrecord.org/news/israeli-conscientious-objector-speaks-out-1.779766 Israeli conscientious objector speaks out] in the ''[[Harvard Law Record]]''
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081202235922/http://december18th.org/ december18th.org]}}
*[http://www.whywerefuse.org whywerefuse.org]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091011045250/http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2009/10/02/israeli-teenagers-take-a-stand-against-military-service/ ''Israeli Teenagers Take a Stand Against Military Service''] – Interview on GRITtv by Laura Flanders with [[Maya Wind]] and Netta Mishly on GRITtv (video)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Refusal To Serve In The Israeli Military}}
[[Category:Anti-militarism]]
[[Category:Conscientious objection]]
[[Category:Conscription in Israel]]
[[Category:Draft evasion]]
[[Category:Judaism and peace]]
[[Category:Israel Defense Forces]]
[[Category:Reactions to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]