The 18-year-old Itamar Greenberg entered and left prison last year, serving a total of 197 days in five consecutive sentences, in a military prison in the center of Israel, for refusing to enlist in military service after being summoned.
The service is mandatory for most Israeli Jews – and some minorities – over 18 years old.
According to him, the refusal to serve came as the “culmination of a long process of learning and moral assessment.”
Greenberg is called Refusenik – as objectors of consciousness are called in Israel. Earlier this month, he was released from Tzedek’s snow prison for the last time.
“The more I learned, the more I knew I couldn’t wear a uniform that symbolized killing and oppression,” Greenberg said, explaining that the Israeli War in Gaza – released after militants led by Hamas attacking southern Israel on October 7, 2023 – solidified his decision to refuse.
“It’s genocide,” he said. “So we don’t need good reasons (to refuse).”
The Israeli government vehemently denied the accusations that the war in Gaza is equivalent to genocide against the Palestinian people.
The war, restarted last week when Israel resumed air attacks and land operations in Gaza after a brief ceasefire, has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians in 17 months, according to the Ministry of Health of the Territory.
More than 670 people were killed and another 1,200 have been injured in Gaza only since Tuesday (18), when the Israeli military campaign was restarted, according to local health authorities.
“I want this change and I will give my life for it,” Greenberg exclaimed about the decision to serve a sentence in prison instead of serving in Israel’s defense forces (IDF).
The presence of the Israeli army in society
In Israel, the army is more than just an institution.
It is part of social fabric, with military service and Jewish-Israeli secular identity deeply interconnected.
And it starts early: since elementary school, students learn that one day will be soldiers who will protect children like them, with soldiers visiting classrooms and schools explicitly encouraging students to enlist.
At 16, these children receive the first orders, culminating in recruitment at 18. Many see this as an honor, a duty and a rite of passage.
Greenberg was called a Jew who hates himself, anti -Semitic, supporter of terrorists and traitor, he reported – even by family and friends.
Numbers are still extremely small
Only a dozen Israeli adolescents have publicly refused to enlist for conscience since the beginning of the war, according to Mesarvot, an organization that supports objectors. But this number is higher than in the years before the war.
Mesarvot told CNN That there is much more “gray refusiniks”, that is, people who claim mental or overall health to avoid recruitment and avoid the possibility of serving sentence behind bars.
Due to the nature of these refusals, it is impossible to provide exact numbers.
Yesh GVOL, another anti-war group that supports objectors of consciousness, told the CNN That, on average, each year, 20% of young people forced to serve to refuse to do so, according to numbers shared by the Israeli Army. This number, explained the group, includes both the refuseniks and the gray “refuseniks.”
The Israeli army does not publish numbers on recruitment refusal. THE CNN asked for this data and comments.
Other groups have been much more vocal than the Refuseniks in refusing to participate in the military tradition of Israel. Prior to attacks on October 7, thousands of reservists protesting against the government’s desire to weaken the judiciary said they would not attend the service.
And for months, the country has been stirred by the recruitment of ultra -portodox men who refuse to enter the army because they are studying in religious schools.
Greenberg’s opinions are extreme even to the Israeli left increasingly marginalized.
The mass protests that have become commonplace since October 7 are not so much against the military or the war in general, but in favor of a ceasefire agreement to bring back the hostages held in Gaza.
But Greenberg and other Refuseniks expect movement to create room for a more conventional dialogue about the traps of a militarized society.
“If I enter the army, I will be only part of the problem. I personally prefer to be part of the solution,” the young man explained, noting that he may not live to see this.
On Saturday (22), about a dozen of these refuseniks met at the headquarters of the Hadash Left Political Coalition to prepare for their weekly demonstration in the center of Tel Aviv.
Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, say Israel’s treatment to Palestinians is apartheid. Israel denounced this characterization as anti -Semitic.
Anger against Netanyahu
Anger against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached the peak this week among tens of thousands of protesters who believe he is employing increasingly undemocratic means to remain in power and question what he hopes to achieve with a renewed military campaign that almost a year and a half relentless war could not.
Many blame Netanyahu for prioritizing their political survival over the country’s safety and say the renewed military campaign at risk puts the lives of about 24 live hostages still kept in Gaza by Hamas and their allies.
Feeling marks a significant turnaround in the conflict, and one that Refuseniks expect to give the Israelis who are considering refusing to serve in protest against the renewed military campaign the power to act – regardless of political persuasion.
“When Israel restarts the fight, many people, not radical or left, but people who support ceasefire and hostages now can say, we will refuse-even if they don’t care about Palestinians,” Greenberg said.
Another Refusenik in the demonstration, Iddo Elam, 18, who served a sentence in prison for his refusal, CNN :
“I would prefer this to kill children.”
According to UNICEF, more than 14,500 children have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
Elam declared to expect his protest to assist his Israeli companions to understand that “the pain of the Palestinians is the same as the Israelis.”
Greenberg said he chose to make it public because “I didn’t want to lie.”
But a 16 -year -old who asked not to be identified, he said CNN May it be aware that it will refuse recruitment when the time comes, he continues to decide how.
Although the teenager has obtained documents from a psychiatrist who say he has mental problems that will not allow him to serve, he said that his reason is not due to his mental health but his political perspective.
“If I’m talking about my ‘mental problems’, then it’s like telling the army: ‘I am the problem, not you,’ he said.
This content was originally published in “I prefer prison to kill children,” says young Israeli who refuses army on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
