‘I would prefer this over killing children:’ Why some Israeli teens are choosing jail over the army

At a subject situation successful cardinal Israel, 18-year-old Itamar Greenberg sat successful a US Army-issued service azygous arsenic the Hollywood blockbuster “American Sniper” blared from the rec room’s TV.

But Greenberg is not a soldier, and the godforsaken camouflage fatigues are the lone subject azygous the alleged refusenik - arsenic conscientious objectors are called successful Israel - has ever worn.

Greenberg has been successful and retired of situation for the past year, serving a full of 197 days implicit 5 consecutive sentences. Earlier this month, Greenberg was released from the Neve Tzedek situation for the past time.

His crime? Refusing to enlist aft being summoned for subject service, which is compulsory for astir Jewish Israelis - and immoderate minorities - implicit the property of 18.

Greenberg said his refusal to service came arsenic the “culmination of a agelong process of learning and motivation reckoning.”

“The much I learned, the much I knew I couldn’t deterioration a azygous that symbolizes sidesplitting and oppression,” helium said, explaining that Israel’s warfare successful Gaza - which was launched aft Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel connected October 7, 2023 - solidified his determination to refuse.

“There is genocide,” helium said. “So we don’t request bully reasons (to refuse).”

The Israeli authorities has vehemently denied accusations that the warfare successful Gaza amounts to genocide against the Palestinian people.

The war, which was reignited past week erstwhile Israel resumed airstrikes and crushed operations successful Gaza aft a short-lived ceasefire, has killed implicit 50,000 Palestinians successful 17 months, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Over 670 radical person been killed and 1,200 others injured successful Gaza since Tuesday alone, erstwhile Israel’s subject run restarted, according to the wellness ministry there.

“I privation this change, and I volition springiness my beingness for it,” Greenberg said of his determination to service clip successful situation alternatively than serving with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

It’s a determination that conscientious objectors similar Greenberg don’t instrumentality lightly, arsenic refusing the draught is fundamentally a prime of ostracization.

In Israel, the subject is much than conscionable an institution. It’s portion of the societal fabric, with subject work and secular Jewish-Israeli individuality profoundly intertwined. And it starts early: From simple school, students are taught they volition 1 time beryllium the soldiers who volition support children conscionable similar them, with soldiers visiting classrooms and schools explicitly encouraging students to enlist. At 16, those children person their archetypal recruitment orders, culminating with conscription astatine 18. Many spot it arsenic an honor, a work and a rite of passage.

Greenberg has been called a self-hating Jew, antisemitic, a violent supporter, and a traitor, helium said – adjacent by household and friends.

“People connection maine connected Instagram and accidental that they volition slaughter me, arsenic Hamas did to Israelis connected October 7,” helium said.

In prison, Greenberg was placed successful solitary confinement aft receiving threats from chap inmates – a determination that situation officials told him was “for his safety.”

Despite societal ostracization, helium – and what a web of organizations supporting conscientious objectors accidental is simply a increasing fig of refuseniks – stay dedicated to the cause.

Their numbers are inactive exceedingly small. Only a twelve Israeli teens person publically refused to enlist connected conscientious grounds since the commencement of the war, according to Mesarvot, an enactment that supports objectors. But that fig is higher than successful years anterior to the war.

Mesarvot told CNN that determination are acold much “grey refuseniks” or, radical that assertion intelligence oregon wide wellness exemptions to dodge the draught and debar the anticipation of serving clip down bars. Because of the quality of those refusals, it is intolerable to supply nonstop numbers.

Yesh Gvul, different anti-war radical that supports conscientious objectors, told CNN that connected average, each year, 20% of youngsters required to service are refusing to bash so, according to figures shared by the Israeli military. That number, Yesh Gvul said, includes some refuseniks and “grey refuseniks.”

The Israeli subject does not people figures astir conscription refusal. CNN has asked the Israeli subject for those figures and comment.

Other groups person been acold much vocal than the refuseniks successful refusing to instrumentality portion successful Israel’s subject tradition. Before the October 7 attacks, thousands of reservists protesting the government’s tendency to weaken the judiciary said that they would not amusement up for service. And for months, the state has been roiled implicit the conscription of ultra-orthodox men who garbage to participate the subject due to the fact that they are studying successful spiritual schools.

Greenberg’s views are utmost adjacent for the progressively marginalized Israeli left. The wide protests that person go commonplace since October 7 are not truthful overmuch against the subject oregon warfare writ large, but successful favour of a ceasefire woody to bring location hostages held successful Gaza. But Greenberg and different refuseniks anticipation that their question mightiness make abstraction for a much mainstream dialog connected the pitfalls of a militarized society.

“If I articulation the army, I conscionable volition beryllium portion of the problem. I personally similar to beryllium portion of the solution,” Greenberg said, noting that helium whitethorn not unrecorded to spot it.

On Saturday, astir a twelve of those refuseniks met astatine the office of the left-wing governmental conjugation Hadash to hole for their play objection successful cardinal Tel Aviv.

Smoking a roll-up cigaret connected the balcony of the gathering with a fistful of different conscientious objectors, Lior Fogel, a 19-year-old from Tel Aviv, said she had ever had “issues with the service arsenic an institution, based connected unit and force,” and managed to get a psychiatrist to motion her disconnected with a intelligence wellness information to get retired of service.

She told CNN that it was lone aft she received her exemption from the service that she began to recognize the relation that the subject plays successful the systemic mundane unit of Palestinians successful Israel and the occupied territories. That injustice, she said, drives her activism today.

Multiple quality rights organizations, including Amnesty International, person said that Israel’s attraction of Palestinians constitutes apartheid. Israel has denounced that characterization arsenic antisemitic.

“The strategy of apartheid and the attraction of this regularisation that actively oppresses different radical cannot beryllium upheld. Not lone is it immoral and mostly horrible, but it volition extremity up blowing up successful your face,” Fogel said.

As Fogel and the others marched to Begin Street to articulation thousands of radical from each walks of nine who were demonstrating nether an umbrella of pro-democracy and anti-war, she too, acknowledged that the views of the refuseniks stay fringe.

Still, the activists mightiness beryllium gathering their moment.

Rage against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached a fever transportation this week among tens of thousands of protesters who judge helium is employing progressively anti-democratic means to enactment successful power, and who question what helium hopes to execute with a renewed subject run that astir a twelvemonth and a fractional of relentless warfare has not.

Many blasted Netanyahu for prioritizing his governmental endurance implicit the information of his state and accidental the renewed subject run grossly endangers the lives of the estimated 24 surviving hostages inactive held successful Gaza by Hamas and its allies.

The sentiment marks a important crook successful the conflict, and 1 that refuseniks anticipation volition springiness Israelis that are considering refusing to service successful protestation of the renewed subject run the powerfulness to enactment - careless of governmental persuasion.

“When Israel restarted the fight, a batch of people, not extremist oregon left, but radical that enactment the ceasefire and the hostages tin present say, we volition garbage – adjacent if they don’t attraction astir the Palestinians,” Greenberg said.

“The refusal is present little taboo. So, they tin usage this instrumentality that we developed - adjacent though they deliberation that we are brainsick and traitors - erstwhile they deliberation it’s right,” helium added.

Another refusenik astatine the demonstration, Iddo Elam, 18, who served clip successful situation for his refusal, told CNN: “I would similar this implicit sidesplitting children.” According to UNICEF, much than 14,500 children person been killed successful Gaza since the commencement of the war.

Elam said helium was hoping his protestation would assistance chap Israelis to recognize that “the symptom of Palestinians is the aforesaid arsenic Israelis.”

When different attendee of the wider protestation heard Elam talking, helium interrupted to importune that the teenager’s viewpoint isn’t typical of Israeli society, and said: “That’s not true. He is simply a minority, and his views don’t correspond what everybody other present thinks.”

But others stood by successful enactment of dozens of objectors who chanted “peace, equality, societal justice,” and held signs that work “refuse the war, mobilize for peace.”

Rakefet Lapid, whose 2 children besides refused work years earlier the war, and whose household lives successful 1 of the kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas connected October 7 said: “I’m gladsome they are inactive immoderate young radical consenting to accidental that.”

“But I’m atrocious they are a tiny minority,” she added.

Greenberg said helium chose to spell nationalist due to the fact that helium “didn’t privation to lie.”

But 1 16-year-old who asked not to beryllium named, told CNN that portion helium knows helium volition garbage the draught erstwhile his clip comes, helium is inactive deciding how.

While the teen has secured papers from a psychiatrist that accidental helium has intelligence issues that won’t let him to serve, helium said his crushed is not owed to his intelligence wellness – but his governmental perspective.

“If I’m going retired connected my ‘mental issues,’ past it’s similar saying to the army: ‘I americium the problem, not you,’” helium said.

CNN’s Mick Krever contributed to this report.

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