My name is Eran, I’m 19 years old and I live in Tel Aviv. I refuse to be conscripted to the Israeli military because I am not willing to take part in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. I already served 14 days in military jail and last Sunday I was sentenced to another 20 days in jail.
From a very early age, I strove to understand the political situation in Israel and the power relations between Israelis and Palestinians. After researching the topic I came to understand the daily reality of Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation. The more I learned about the blockade of Gaza and the lack of basic human rights for Palestinians in the West Bank the more clear it was to me that I cannot agree to become a soldier and take part in the oppression of the Palestinian people.
In my statement to the army’s Committee for Granting Exemptions for Reasons of Conscience, I declared my reasons for my refusal of military service:
I refuse because I believe it is immoral and unreasonable to hold the Palestinian people under military control and blockade without granting them civil and political rights, and while violating their human rights on an ongoing basis.
I refuse because I believe that all human beings should be governed by institutions that represent them.
I refuse because I believe that enlisting in the army legitimizes the occupation and serves it.
I refuse because I believe that Israel could and should end the occupation immediately whether by agreement, withdrawal, or by granting citizenship to the Palestinian people and the establishment of a bi-national state for both Palestinians and Israelis.
I refuse because I respect the rules and norms of international law and the international community, which reject the Israeli occupation.
On the day of my conscription I refused to be drafted and was sent to be tried in a military court. One of the officers there told me he wanted to stop me from going to jail and that he had a solution that would allow me to serve by joining the Israeli police force, for my service. I agreed, believing that in that way I could serve the country without taking a part in the occupation.
I was invited to an interview for the police forces in the national headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, in Occupied East Jerusalem. I refused because I am not willing to invade Palestinian territories. As a result, I was rejected by the police for being a conscientious objector and was sent back to the military court. The officer who suggested I join the police was angered by my “stubbornness” but said he would try to change the police decision. I was called to another interview in West Jerusalem. There, I was rejected for stating that I would not report or use information regarding the Occupied Territories that I would receive during my police service. I was tried once again in military court, and was sentenced to jail for 14 days.
After the military’s failed attempts to find a service position for me that would not be against my conscience, my conclusion is that it is not possible to serve in the military or the police without taking part in the occupation. After 54 years the occupation has seeped into all security positions in Israel. It is unavoidable and will only stop once the occupation itself comes to an end.
In solidarity,
Eran