My name is Yasmin Ricci-Yahav, I am 18 years old teenager from Israel. In August 2019 I publicly refused to join the Israeli army, refused to serve the Israeli occupation.
I took this picture outside the Israeli military induction base, just before I was imprisoned.
Being a conscientious objector was hard - I was locked up in jail for 74 days, labelled as a traitor by mainstream media, and had friends and relatives shun me away. But it was also empowering: I had the opportunity to fight for justice and peace. I received an enormous wave of international solidarity that lifted my spirit in prison, and eventually helped lead to my release from prison.
If you want to help future solidarity campaigns for jailed refusers click here.
My imprisonment may have ended but our struggle continues. I decided to spend the next year volunteering in Hadasa hospital in Jerusalem. I have also joined “Mesarvot”, an activist group that supports young Israeli teens who refuse to serve the occupation and help them prepare for possible imprisonment. These days Mesarvot activist are taking an leading role in the struggle against Trump's and Netanyahu's annexation plan, about which you will hear in the next update.
Israel has not stopped drafting teenagers during the COVID 19 lockdown and Mesarvot has continued to educate high school students on the horrors of occupation, as we launched a series of video meetings during the lockdown. At the same time, we helped to raise more than $30,000 to support the health system in Gaza in an online donation campaign we participated in.
I am happy to announce the launch of a new monthly English newsletter - written by us, Israeli refusers and activists fighting against the occupation. It’s a new joint project by Mesarvot and Refuser Solidarity Network, supported by a new international solidarity team. The newsletter you are reading is the first, and we will be sending regular updates about the Israeli refusal movement from now on. To recieve these updates regulary just fill your email in this link.
If you wish to support our movement, and our future campaigns for Gaza and against the annexation, you can pitch in a few dollars a month here. Such recurring donations, even $3, $10 or $15 a month, really help us to develop our movement against the occupation.
Your solidarity, wherever you are at the world, is vital and with it we will one day end the occupation and create the safe and peaceful society for both Palestinians and Israelis.
In solidarity,
Yasmin Ricci-Yahav
