The cost of rebellion in Israel Israeli recruit Tal Mitnik jailed for refusing to attack Gaza

Mitnick, an “18-year-old who refused to enlist in the Israeli army in protest of the Gaza war and the occupation of Palestine, has just been sentenced by a military court to an additional 30 days in a military prison.”A spokesman for Mesarvot, an entity that supports so-called ‘refusenik’ Israelis who reject military service, confirmed.

warrior consensus

Since the Israeli offensive into Gaza began on October 7, following a Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel, The country mobilized more than 360,000 reservists in the war effort, with little questioning by public opinion, which was largely favorable to the war. To eliminate Hamas from the strip.

However, in a scenario of rising nationalism where those who oppose the military path are criticized or accused of being traitors, an Israeli minority opposes the war and puts political causes on the table, such as Gaza. But siege or long-resisting occupation. Israeli forces on Palestinian territories.

Mitnick, born in Tel Aviv, He actively participated in anti-war protests and was called up for military service after turning 18. – mandatory in Israel and for men for almost three years – refused to move into the ranks at the end of December and was sentenced to a month in prison.

enter and exit

The rebellious youth was released from prison on January 18 and after this Tuesday’s sentencing he will have to serve another month, a process that may be repeated in the coming months as the army calls him several times and refuses to leave. Does it. .says Nimrod Fleshenberg, a spokesperson for MesarVote.

The group had supported other ‘refusniks’ in previous years and, since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Mitnick is the first person to openly refuse to perform mandatory military service for political reasons, although “these days four or five Other young people plan to do so “next month”Fleischenberg says.

Mitnick cited the harsh Israeli offensive in Gaza — where about 25,500 Palestinians have been killed — and the “daily oppression that the Palestinian people face” as reasons for his decision, he said at one of the first protests in Tel Aviv in months. There was war, in the first weeks of the conflict.

His case gained international prominence, but it had little impact on Israeli society, where his position is a minority and he is resented among the youth, many of whom are convinced of the obligation to perform military service, a perception that is fueled by militarization. It was further strengthened by the struggle in Patti.

“Not going into the military is not at all common and the population views military service as a normal thing,” said Mitnick, who lamented that Israeli society is “very militarized.”, For this young man, the only way out of the war in Gaza is a ceasefire that stops attacks and destruction and includes the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

“Some people call me a traitor, but at the end of the day this is my home and the only home I know. I am working to protect myself, my neighbors and the people of the West Bank and Gaza.” I just want safety for all of us” Mitnick concluded.

the rebels

Disobedients are not common in Israeli ranks, although there are in the army. A committee of conscientious objectors that usually grants religious exemption only to ultra-Orthodox Jews to study Torah.

In early 2023, Amnesty International reported the case of another 20-year-old ‘refusenik’, Yuval Dagg, who declared himself a conscientious objector and who was charged with insubordination by the army and sentenced to 20 days in military prison. The sentence was pronounced.

In 2003, a group of Israeli Air Force pilots provoked national outrage when they refused to participate in operations in the West Bank and Gaza amid the Second Intifada, considering attacks on these occupied territories “illegal and immoral”.