Ajuad Zidan imprisoned for seventh time in a row CO Ajuad Zidan was sentenced to 20 more days of imprisonment on 21 Mar. for his refusal to enlist. This is now his seventh term in prison. 21 March 2011

Israel Soldier Faces Jail for Passing Secret Documents A former Israeli soldier is facing a long prison sentence after admitting that she passed thousands of classified military documents to a newspaper reporter.
6 February 2011

Druze Refusenik Ajwad Zidan in Prison Again “loneliness of the prison cell is one thousand times better than standing in front of my people while pointing a gun at them..." 14 December 2010

Picket Colonel Kemp apologist for Zionist murderers 16 November 2010
See Al-Jazeera report

This Peaceful Position Takes Courage An article on Israeli refusenik Yonatan Shapira. 20 October 2010

Jewish boat to Gaza - attack on refusenik Yonatan Shapira. 1 October 2010

Third prison term for conscientious objector Shir Regev: I believe it is my personal duty to refuse and defect from an army whose main purpose is to serve as an occupation police for maintaining “Israeli order” and imposing it on defenseless Palestinians who are denied citizenship.

Rifiutarsi di uccidere per Israele parla una donna refusenik. 22-25 June 2010

Israeli CO Diane Kogan in prison. Conscientious objector Diane Kogan was sentenced to 25 days in military prison. This is her second prison term and the sixth time she is tried and sentenced for her refusal to enlist.
16 June 2010

Ken O’Keefe Former US Marine, Gulf War veteran, and now survivor of the Mavi Marmara massacre, has issued a remarkable and searing statement from Istanbul. 6 June 2010

Israeli refuseniks speak out, London Jews for Justice for Palestinians invite you to meet OR BEN DAVID and YUVAL AURON. Two courageous Shministim, who, as school leavers, refused to be drafted into the Israeli army. Sunday, May 9th St Martins Community Centre, 43 Carol Street, London NW1 0HT May 7 2010

Yesh Gvul: Alternative beacon lighting Ceremony. Fascist group "Im-Tirtzu" intends to demonstrate at the site of the ceremony. 19 April 2010

Peace for Israelis and Palestinians? Not without America's tough love Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's nephew compares Israel to apartheid South Africa 1 April 2010

Shir Regev sentenced to a 2nd term I believe it is my personal duty to refuse and defect from an army whose main purpose is to serve as an occupation police for maintaining "Israeli order" and imposing it on defenseless Palestinians 26 March 2010

Saturday 12/12, Prison 6 (near Atlit), at 11:00 : Support Vigil for Idan Barir, member of Combatants for Peace, who has been jailed (14 days) for refusing to participate in the occupation. Transportation from JLM and TLV: Contact aviy57@gmail.com or 052-4460101

A letter from the International Wages Due Lesbians & Payday Men’s Network to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association "Have you learnt nothing from the discrimination and persecution we as queers have had to face: can you, despite this, ignore the suffering and persecution of others and shake hands and even promote their persecutors?” October 13, 2009

Meeting of Shministim members with Bil’in Popular Committee leader Two teenage Israeli refuseniks, Ben David and Emelia Marcovich, met with Iyad Bornat to discuss the demonstration of 23 October 2009, which will be dedicated to the Shministim October 13, 2009

The latest Shministim Letter: Can a government that controls the lives of millions of people who did not take part in elections be called a “democracy”? Can military rule of a civilian population be considered anything other than a dictatorship? Oct 2009

THE SHMINISTIM TOUR Code Pink and Jewish Voice for Peace are excited to be organizing a nationwide tour through the United States this Fall, in which these two women recount why they refused, what they have experienced as a result, and what it all means. 25 September 2009

Israeli soldiers reveal the brutal truth: They detail the killing of at least two civilians, the vandalism, looting and wholesale destruction of Palestinian houses, the use of deadly white phosphorus, bellicose religious advice from army rabbis and what another battalion commander described to his troops as "insane firepower with artillery and air force". 15 July 2009

IDF jails soldier who refused to serve in West Bank Corporal D., 19, a combat soldier, whose family immigrated from Russia, said these things reminded him of his relatives' stories about pogroms.. June 24, 2009

Police Investigation Against Yesh Gvul The alleged grounds for the investigation is the suspicion that the group and its members engage in "incitement to evade military service", do so consistently and "promise financial incentives" to that end. June 24, 2009

New Tel Aviv bar bans IDF soldiers in uniform, settlement products....as well as the carrying of weapons. These pronouncements were derived from what the bar's owners see as the connection between all forms of oppression, from the slaughter of animals to sexism to occupation. June 24, 2009

Letter from New Profile - scapegoated by Israel's Attorney General. 17 May 2009

IDF draft dodgers are heroes, not criminals 4 May 2009

IDF entertainment group to perform at artsdepo in North Finchley. Protest the "IDF entertainment group singing Israel's favourite songs" at artsdepot Tuesday, 28 April at 8 pm. 26 April 2009

Yesh Gvul movement is pleased to invite you to join us for two events on Israel's 61^st Independence Day: On Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 April. 26 April 2009

New Profile. The activists targeted are members of New Profile, a group of feminist women and men daring to suggest that Israel need not be a militarized society. 26 April 2009

Yad Vashem fires employee who compared Holocaust to Nakba "If Yad Vashem chooses to ignore the facts, for example the massacre at Dir Yassin, or the Nakba , it means that it's afraid of something" Shapira said. 23 April 2009

Israeli army rabbis criticized for stance on Gaza assault. Some Israeli soldiers say military rabbis cast the offensive against Hamas rockets as a fight to expel non-Jews. 25 March 2009

CO Neta Mishli sentenced to 20 days imprisonment. 24 April 2009

Palestinian brothers: Israel used us as human shields in Gaza war: Three teenage boys say they were made to kneel in front of tanks to deter Hamas attacks. 23 March 2009

Cut to pieces: the Palestinian family drinking tea in their courtyard: Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles – the dreaded drones – caused at least 48 deaths in Gaza during the 23-day offensive. 23 March 2009

Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza's casualties: Israeli military says medical staff 'take the risk upon themselves'. 23 March 2009

Gaza war crime claims gather pace as more troops speak out. Fresh allegations have come to light that gung-ho leadership inculcated a culture of disregard for Palestinian casualties. 22 March 2009

Israel's dirty secrets in Gaza. Army veterans reveal how they gunned down innocent Palestinian families and destroyed homes and farms. 20 March 2009

Israeli Soldiers Expose Atrocities in Gaza Testimony from Israeli soldiers, who took part in the recent war in Gaza, has forced Israel to directly confront the serious charge that permissive rules of engagement allowed for the killing of Palestinian civilians and widespread destruction of Palestinian property. 20 March 2009

Dead Palestinian babies and bombed mosques - IDF fashion 2009. The office at the Adiv fabric-printing shop in south Tel Aviv handles a constant stream of customers, many of them soldiers in uniform, who come to order custom clothing featuring their unit's insignia, usually accompanied by a slogan and drawing of their choosing. 20 March 2009

Soldiers’ Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel. In the two months since Israel ended its military assault on Gaza, Palestinians and international rights groups have accused it of excessive force and wanton killing in that operation, but the Israeli military has said it followed high ethical standards and took great care to avoid civilian casualties. 20 March 2009

The writing on the wall In Israel, research institutes count every abusive slogan scrawled on Jewish cemeteries abroad and document every article, monitoring upsurges in anti-Semitism, whilst everyday racism - both institutionalized and popular, declarative and practical - against the Arabs of Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank are cautiously and frugally covered. 17 March 2009

Nurit Peled whose daughter was killed in a suicide bombing, speaking at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine: "I dedicate my words to the heroes of Gaza . .". 4 March 2009

Vanunu Writes to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee: "I cannot be part of a list of laureates that includes Simon Peres". I am asking the committee to remove my name from the list for this year’s list of nominations. Simon Peres is the man who was behind all the Israeli atomic policy. 1 March 2009

Spanish court to continue the investigation of the Shechade case. The Israeli government refuses to conduct an independent investigation of its acts, some of which are alleged war crimes. Therefore, Israeli officers, soldiers and politicians may have to answer to foreign tribunals in the future, for these acts. 28 February 2009

Peace activist Sahar Vardi, 18, has served three prison sentences for her refusal to be conscripted into Israel's military service. She is one of the Shministim – Israeli teenagers who oppose serving in the army because it enforces Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. 18 Feb 2009

Vigil of solidarity with conscientious refuseniks Raz Bar-David-Varon and Maya Yehieli-Wind

Two Israeli women refuse to serve during Israeli bombing of Gaza. Two women objectors, Raz Bar-David Varon and Maya Yechieli Wind, both signatories of the 2008 high school seniors refusal letter, declared their refusal to serve in the Israeli military and were sentenced to 14 days in military prison. 20 January 2009

IDF reservist refuses to fight in Gaza over civilian deaths 12 Jan 2009

Ten Israeli soldiers choose jail over Gaza – at least ten soldiers have opted for prison terms rather than going through with their deployment. 12 Jan 2009

Woman conscientious objector Mia Tamarin sentenced to a further 14 days in prison "I cannot become part of an organization the purpose of which is to fend off violence by violence, because it stands unequivocally contrary to everything I believe in and to my whole life. There always is another, non-violent option, and it is this option that I choose". December 4 2008

Conscientious objectors Tamar Katz and Raz Bar-David Varon sentenced to 21 days in prison For both of them, this is their third prison term. December 2 2008

Israeli CO Yuval Oron-Ofir.Yuval Oron-Ofir, a signatory of the 2008 high school seniors refusal letter, was sentenced on Monday, 24 Nov., to 14 days in military prison for his refusal to serve in the Israeli military.
29 November 2008

Howard Zinn on the Shministim A campaigning letter from a noted writer and activist supporting teenage refuseniks In Israel. 27 November 2008

Conscientious objectors Raz Bar-David Varon and Yuval Oron-Ofir imprisoned again. 26 November 2008

Prison Party! Show your support for five jailed Israeli refuseniks. 10 November 2008

COs Sahar Vardi and Raz Bar-David. Raz Bar-David Varon, a signatory of the 2008 high school seniors refusal letter, Reported yesterday (3 Nov.) at the Induction Base, declared her refusal to serve in the Israeli military and was sentenced to 21 days in military prison.4 November 2008

Four women conscientious objectors sentenced to second prison term 13 October 2008

Father, forgive me, I will not fight for your Israel Omer Goldman, daughter of a former Mossad chief, tells why she prefers jail to the military draft October 12, 2008

ISRAEL: Conscientious objector Avichai Vaknin receives second prison term of 21 days. 2 October 2008

Three women COs - Omer Goldman, Tamar Katz and Mia Tamarin - all signed the 2008 high school seniors refusal letter, reported at the military Induction Base, refusing to go into the Israeli army. 25 September 2008

Israel -- A State "War" on Youth / Web site for IDF draft dodgers faces criminal probe. Ratcheting up their campaign against so-called "shirkers", Israeli authorities have declared a new front in their "war" – as it is termed by the news item below – on Israeli youth. 16 September 2008

An Israeli refusenik. Eighteen-year-old Sahar Vardi is currently in an Israeli military prison. She is being punished for the crime of refusing to be conscripted into the Israeli military. 3 September 2008

ISRAEL: Conscientious objectors Avichai Vaknin and Sahar Vardi
After conscientious objector Udi Nir went to military prison for 21 days on 21 August 2008, two more conscientious objectors are now in prison. Avichai Vaknin (ISR14948), a 18 years old pacifist conscientious objector from Yehud, near Tel Aviv, has been sentenced to 21 days in prison on the same day as Udi Nir, and received the same sentence of 21 days. 26 August 2008

The Shministim Letter 2008: "We, high-school graduate teens, declare that we shall work against the Israeli occupation and oppression policy in the occupied territories and the territories of Israel. Therefore we will refuse to take part of these actions, which are being done under our name as part of the IDF." August 2008

Our reign of terror, by the Israeli army 19 April 2008

The Report was submitted; Now What? The Winograd Commission Member: Next time I will pointedly ask" Why did we go to YESH GVUL! February 2008

Rebecca Vilkomerson, today participated in the gaza convoy against the siege, and gave a quick report back, especially since so many worked so hard to support it. February 2008

IDF: 50% of Israeli teens do not enlist Col. Tziki Sela, head of the army's Department of Planning and Manpower Administration estimated that there are approximately 7,000 draft dodgers every year. January 2008

Ben Kogan, a pacifist conscientious objector, was sentenced to 21 days for refusing to serve in the Israeli army, now in solitary in military prison for refusing to wear uniform & refusing to refer to the prison commanders by their ranks. January 2008

Omri Evron, Israeli refusenik August 2007

Campaign to investigate the killing of civilians as a result of the Schechade bombing. July 2007

Speech by Nurit Peled-Elhanan at the Tel Aviv Demonstration Commemorating 40 Years of the Occupation. "Today racism rules in the Jewish state, tramples people’s dignity underfoot and deprives them of liberty, condemns all of us to lives of hell." June 2007

Israeli Conscientious Objectors raise a voice against violence by Maya Schenwar, 25 April 2007

Payday letter to Hadas Amit April 2007

Demonstration is support of Hadas Amit: "I refuse to enlist in the IDF, because the "D" in "IDF" symbolizes death for me. Who has the right to decide for me that I'm not a peace supporter, and has forced me into a corner? I must either lie or pay the price for my principles. In the name of morality, justice and the love of man I will sit in jail." Feb 2007

Woman CO Hadas Amit sentenced to second prison term of 10 days: "I am not willing to wear the uniform of an organisation responsible for killing and destruction" Jan 2007

400 signed a petition initiated by Yitzhak Laor, a distinguished writer, which is soon to be published as a paid advertisement in the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz. 4 August 2006

Combatants For Peace: Former Israeli and Palestinian Fighters Talk About Why Dialogue, Not War, Will Solve the Middle East Crisis. July 24th 2006

Israelis say No occupation, No invasion -- petition to be published in Israel. 22 July 2006

Fighting in Lebanon produces first conscientious objector. The Lebanon 2006 war has produced its first conscientious objector - Staff Sergeant Itzik Shabbat. 19 July 2006

Israel 66% reservists did not go back to the army in 2001
Refuseniks in other armies are not treated so well, he says. "When I decided to refuse, none of my family, neighbours, or friends denounced me. Their tone varied between respect for my views and outright support. An officer in my battalion who is himself a settler told me, 'I respect you, but keep loving the Jews and the nation of Israel.' I was surprised but very happy." 06 April 2006

Vanunu Interview: 'Atomic bomb protects apartheid policy’
In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, an engineer at Israel’s Dimona nuclear centre, revealed to the London Sunday Times the existence of the secret Israeli nuclear weapons program. Although he is still banned from contacting reporters, last October Vanunu answered Swiss journalist Silvia Cattori's questions in an exclusive interview for Voltaire Network. 1 March 2006

Israeli ex-military chief cancels trip to UK over threat of war crimes arrest: 'Targeted' actions in Gaza may attract charges: Present chief of staff told not to visit London September 16, 2005

The UK's duty to 'universal jurisdiction': Defending Bow Street's decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of an Israeli accused of war crimes. October 4, 2005

250 new refuseniks in Israel
A new declaration of refusal by students has already collected 250 signatures of youngsters facing compulsory military service. 17 March 2005

International Women's Day Address to the European Parliament by Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, the mother of Smadar Elhanan, 13 years old when killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem in September 1997.8 March 2005

Vanunu arrested
What happened last Thursday November 11th 2004
"Dear friends. First the timing, Israel spies chose the day of Arafat's death, they were ready with this plan to arrest me since Oct' 19th. I saw the paper signed by the same Jewish religious judge from Oct' 19th. So they knew Arafat was going to die, and they decided to arrest me on that day", writes Mordechai Vanunu November 2004

The Five: Free from the Army!
This is a victory for all women and men of good conscience who refuse to participate in oppression and occupation. The calm bravery of these five young men reminds us that we all have the right to refuse to be part of the occupation and suggests that we might well consider that this right is really a duty. September 2004

The Five released On 15 September 2004
The Five will be released from prison on September 15th. We don't know if they are going to be released from the army then, or whether the army authorities are still planning to try and recruit them yet again. August 2004

Yitzhak Laor writes about an exhibition of soldiers' photographs in Tel Aviv and introduces some of the soldiers' memories of their military service 22 July 2004

Breaking the Silence: The Next Phase
Last week, the exhibition of photographs/testimonies "Breaking the Silence" Fighters Tell about Hebron closed, after being on display during June at the Gallery of Geographic Photography in Yad Eliahu, Tel Aviv July 2004

Refuseniks update: Military parole committee
The military parole committee convened yesterday at the military court in Jaffa to discuss the possibility of a parole to the five conscientious objectors refusing to enlist in an army of occupation. 7 July 2004

Israeli refuseniks movement May 2004 UPDATE
News and what you can do by New Profile.

'I am proud and happy to do what I did'
Vanunu released by Israel after 18 years but fears for his safety remain. 22 April 2004

Anger at restrictions on Vanunu
Protests were lodged yesterday against the restrictions that are to be imposed on the Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who is due to be released from prison next week. 17 April 2004

For more about Mordechai Vanunu see Mordechai Vanunu: A Profile

Carrying the Refuser Message to the Mainstream
The Refuser Solidarity Network conference in March 2004 in Chicago, brought together Israeli refuseniks representing various organizations (Yesh Gvul, Shministim, Parents Forum, New Profile, and Courage to Refuse) with the Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN) to discuss the next steps forward.
22 March 2004

To our dear friends, the Israeli female and male conscientious objectors!
Women in Black, Belgrade: We have not managed to stop the wars, but we have never made peace with hatred and violence 14 February 2004

Not in the military prison! Not in the civil prison!
The army authorities now ask to transfer the five to a civil prison, since they regard them as a constant incitement and a potential danger to the military prison, no matter what they do.
12 February 2004

An Israeli Pilot Speaks Out
I would not have believed that I'd send rockets into Jenin, Gaza and Tulkarem, and I'm doing it 23 January 2003

No Exit
In Hebron there's punitive fire. Shoot at everything you see. Cars, things, anything that moves . . . Shooting relaxes you, like meditation . . . Shooting people is therapy 2 January 2004

It's because they fear us, say teenage refuseniks jailed by Israeli army
"I take it as a compliment that they are so afraid of our ability to persuade others that they called us dangerous and have to lock us up," 7 January 2004

Israeli colonel resigns over army's 'immoral' actions
A reservist colonel in the Israeli army has resigned his commission in protest at his army's "immoral conduct" in the occupied territories. 5 January 2004

The Protest Against an Immoral Regime Is a Categorical Imperative
Israeli democracy is being whittled away with every day of occupation 29 December 2003

Elite Israeli Troops Refuse To Serve in the Territories
We will no longer butcher our humanity by taking part in an occupying army's missions
22 December 2003

13 Sayeret Matkal reservists join refusal to serve in territories
We shall no longer lend a hand in the occupation of the territories 21 December 2003

Doing Things The Hard Way - Five Israeli Military Objectors Convicted
"The worse the occupation becomes, the more people will refuse . . . A country which oppresses three and half million people and denies them the most basic human rights is a country which is bound also to oppress its own citizens. No wonder that this country is sending us to prison. No wonder that it is trampling the poor and the disadvantaged." Adam Maor. 16 December 2003

Petition for the liberation of the Refuseniks
Please sign your name, gather additional signatures and make your contribution against the occupation. December 2003

`I punched an Arab in the face'
There are many families in which, in a certain sense, there are already two generations of criminals. The father went through it and now the son is going through it. 20 November 2003

Jaffa military court
"We strongly call upon the military authorities and the minister of defence to review the facts of the case and to reconvene the Conscience Committee to discuss once again the issue of whether or not Yoni Ben Artzi should get an exemption from military service." 13 November 2003

150 demonstrate to support the "Five" on trial
Some 150 people had come to express solidarity with the imprisoned refusniks, now entering the last stages of the year-long ordeal at the Jaffa Military Court. 22 October 2003

The end of the draft?
A military committee is recommending Israel do away with universal draft, one of the pillars of Israeli society. 24 September 2003

Israeli Air Force pilots in reserves: We refuse to attack in the Territories
We 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. 24 September 2003

Israel: the trial of the five
Both Matar and Kaminer, replying to the prosecutor's questions regarding the duty to obey the law in a democratic state, said that Israel is not fully democratic. 18 September 2003

Israeli refuser writes to Stephen Funk
"We live half a world from each other, we have led quite different lives, and yet we are both in the same situation: conscientious objectors to imperial war and occupation" 12 August 2003

CO Yinnon Hiller exempted from military service.
In October 1998, Hiller, then 16 years old, notified the Israeli Minister of Defence of his conscientious objection to perform military service on pacifist grounds. 25 August 2003

Third of youth evade conscription
About 34 percent of youngsters of conscription age are not recruited to the army or are ejected from after joining, 24 June 2003

Appeal for action from New Profile
"I, Noam Bahat, 'a soldier in the army of non-violence', hereby declare "On Thursday, 16 January, I began a hunger strike, protesting the occupation of the Palestinian people, the human rights violations in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, the detention of conscientious objectors in military prison, our recurrent sentences and the turning of the State of Israel into a fascist state before our eyes. 23 December 2003

Refuseniks before the Court Marshal
"Already for years I know that i am not going to join the army. I know it with as much certainty as I know that I will never kick a homeless person lying on the sidewalk, never rape a woman, and when I will have a child - never abandon it. 3 July 2003

"We Refuse The Occupation" demo of Friday
From the podium a call was made of solidarity with the 3 UK soldiers and 1 US marine, imprisoned for their refusal to join the War Against Iraq. 11 April 2003

A Refusenik Scientist Against Science Neutrality
No, science of the American variety has no recourse. I, personally, cannot see myself anymore sharing a common human community with American science. Unfortunately, I also belong to a culture of a similar spiritual deviation (Israel), and which seems to be equally incorrigible.
9 April 2003

Statement of refusenik Shimri Tzameret, Jaffa Military Court
Already for years I know that I am not going to join the army. I know it with as much certainty as I know that I will never kick a homeless person lying on the sidewalk, never rape a woman, and when I will have a child - never abandon it. 24 June 2003

Refuseniks' claim: IDF is releasing us to pretend we don't exist
The Israel Defense Forces has recently begun to release soldiers from reserve duty when they refuse to serve in the territories, activists in the Courage to Refuse movement claim. This new policy, the group claims, is aimed at creating the false impression that the refusal movement has waned.
3 July 2003

"We Refuse The Occupation"
From the podium a call was made of solidarity with the 3 UK soldiers and 1 US marine, imprisoned for their refusal to join the War Against Iraq. 11 April 2003

'I realised the stupidity of it'
His uncle is the hawkish former prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. But Jonathan Ben-Artzi is a conscientious objector who has already spent months in prison for refusing conscription - and today faces a full court martial. 11 March 2003

The Bereaved Parents for Peace By Nurit Peled-Elhanan "We have been made to pay the highest price for a war that should have ended long ago, by letting careless, not to say ruthless and cynical politicians use the lives of our children as chips in their deadly games, and turn our children's blood into the cheapest merchandise in the political market." January 03, 2003

Women's Draft Resistance in Israel
Israel is the only country in the world that practices conscription for women. It is thus also the only country in the world where women's draft resistance exists. The movement of women draft resisters in Israel is constantly on the rise. Undated

Women’s resistance must be visible - a letter from a draft resister
A letter from Shani Werner, a draft resister who has already received her exemption from the Israeli army on grounds of conscience. Shani is one of the initiators and organizers of the high school seniors group that wrote two open letters to the Prime Minister declaring refusal to serve in the army.
31 December 2002

Women Refuse Report
We refuse to let our men, our husbands, our fathers, our brothers, or our sons and daughters be enemies and repeatedly create enemies. July 2002

Statement of a conscientious objector to the service in Israeli army
I fail to understand how the repression of the Palestinian resistance to Israel by means of state terror - more cruel and of wider scale even than the counter terror which it provokes - serves the society that I am part of. How does the activity of the state, implemented through the army, benefit me and those I care for? 24 December 2001

Demand the release of all Israeli conscientious objectors
War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of all imprisoned conscientious objectors. To see their update on the situation of refusers and to send protest messages to the Israeli authorities and media. Undated

Declaration of refusal of service in the occupied territories by 100 Israeli Reservists
We, combat officers and soldiers […] have served the State of Israel for long weeks every year, in spite of the dear cost to our personal lives, have been on reserve duty all over the Occupied Territories, and were issued commands and directives that had nothing to do with the security of our country, and […] had the sole purpose of perpetuating our control over the Palestinian people. Undated

Leaflet to soldiers by Yesh Guvl (There is a limit)
Wouldn't it be preferable to use the money to reinforce our social structures ? Wouldn't it be preferable to channel the funds to our crumbling health and education systems? Is it just to neglect the aged, the handicapped and the unemployed in favour of further settlements? Undated

Reservists balk at occupation
Since the start of the current Palestinian uprising in September 2000, at least 400 Israelis, mostly reservists, have refused service in the Israeli-occupied territories, and in most cases they were quietly released from duty, according to a resisters' group, Yesh Gvul, which means, There is a Limit.
2 February 2002

Israel jails 600 reserve soldiers in crackdown on draft dodging
So they are not willing to pay the price and risk their lives for something they don't believe in. This is a big problem for the army because it will affect their operations. The army needs to understand that fewer and fewer people are willing to do their dirty work in the territories. 31 January 2002

Personal testimony of an Israeli refusenik
Without thinking, I turned into the perfect occupation enforcer. I settled accounts with "upstarts" who didn't show enough respect. I tore up the personal documents of men my father's age. I hit, harassed, served as a bad example - all in the city of Kalkilia, barely three miles from grandma and grandpa's home-sweet-home. No. I was no "aberration." I was exactly the norm. 6 February 2002

To the courageous soldiers who say "NO!"
A friend of mine served in the Israeli Defence Force. He realized the insanity of it when his best friend was blown to pieces right next to him. He quit the army and quit the country. But he also told me about the fascination to hold a gun, the surge of power that one feels when you "can take somebody down from a 100 meters distance as a sniper". This is the disease of a male society. We get trained and taught what it means to be a man right from the beginning. We hardly get taught what it means to be a human. 2 April 2002

A Letter from an IDF soldier to his mom
Good morning mom. Don't be ashamed for my behavior. I'm feeling very sick, I have the impression I'm becoming like a beast. I can't believe what I'm doing. I obey orders so I don't look like a sissy in front of my friends. You could never understand what it means to enter a house with ten children inside, woman and old people, pointing the rifle on them, shouting, "freeze!" in Arabic. Only a few months ago I was going to school, a nice sweet boy, now I'm an assassin. 4 April 2002

Soldiers imprisoned for refusing to take part in human rights violations
Amnesty International calls on the Israeli government to release immediately and unconditionally all those who have been imprisoned because they refused to serve in the Israeli army for reasons of conscience or profound conviction. 14 May 2002

Prisons are filling up with conscientious objectors
In a time in Israel when poverty is at its highest level since the 1950s, many career soldiers, among them pilots and intelligence officers have chosen jail and unemployment rather than carrying out orders that they feel are immoral. 21 February 2003

Dear friends of Israeli refusers:
"I hereby call upon all young people facing conscription or already conscripted: use your power of judgment. Do you intend to cooperate with the horrifying regime of [Israeli Prime Minister] Sharon, as the instrument of execution? And if you do intend to enlist, do not forget for a single moment that the army takes away from you, at the moment of mobilization, your power of judgment. Consequently, you must consider in advance what are the lines you shall never be willing to cross, because once you are inside, everything gets blurred up. Undated

Militarism and racism have reached a fascist level
The oppression known by the peoples of this in the age of the Empires, the torment of the slaves and the Indians in North America, the Algerian War of Independence and apartheid in South Africa - all these precedents have made my refusal inevitable. 23 October 2002

Yom Kippur Plea for Forgiveness
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), is a very important Jewish religious festival, when Jewish people make atonement and seek absolution from God for the sins of the past year. Yesh Gvul (There is a limit), an organization opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, published their version of a Yom Kippur prayer during the first Palestinian Intifada. 1988

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