Students Boycott Apartheid

Shministim: Israeli Conscientious Objectors

Jul 1, 2009 Palestine, Trip | Author: justicetopeace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjggLhQo6w&hl

For most families in Israel, serving in the military is not only a required duty it’s also of great honor and prestige. “Shministim” is the equivalent of high school seniors in Israel. So at the age of 18, after graduating from high school, young Israelis serve in the military for 3 years before continuing their education. After the WhoProfits.org meeting with Dalit at the Zochrot office we met with two young female Israeli conscientious objectors: Netta Mishly and Raz Veron, both of whom rejected to serve in the Israeli military at the age of 18. Both of these young women discussed what led to their conviction of refusing to serve in the Israeli military and the reactions they received from their family and society.

At the age of 16 Netta Mishly had decided that she would reject serving the Israeli military. She came to this conclusion after much internal struggle, despite all the encouragement from her family and society to serve in the military. After visiting the Palestinian village of Bil’in at the age of 15, and attending a peaceful demonstration of Israeli and Palestinian activists that were shot upon by Israeli soldiers, Netta began to realize that she no longer wanted to serve in the military but she found it difficult to express such an opinion. “There’s such a big system of false justification that it makes you like this, that it makes you militarized. The people I met [who had served] were really racist. They would say ‘When I see the Arabs go through there [checkpoints], I want to take my gun and shoot them.’”

Netta gradually began to convince her mom and was able to do so in a matter of two years, but up until the day of her draft Netta’s father was in complete denial that her daughter planned to refuse serving in the army. Netta revealed that her father would go so far as to boast at family gatherings that his daughter would join the army and serve the Israeli people.

Nevertheless, Netta was prepared to face the consequences; whether they be family banishment or imprisonment. After being sentenced to prison Netta’s father finally began to accept her decision. After spending a few days in jail, several visits from her family, and witnessing the treatment of her daughter, Netta believes her family finally began to realize that “if she as a privileged Jew was treated as such, just imagine how the Palestinians are treated… Palestinians have to face checkpoints and discrimination on a daily basis, and my parents finally began to see that through my treatment.” However, Netta believes this would never have been the case if she hadn’t refused to serve in the army. “After all they love me and care about me and that’s the only reason why they began to see what I saw, so that they could try to get me out.” Netta was released after 20 days in prison and declared by the military “mentally unfit of serving in the military”. The Israeli military does not formally accept conscientious objectors, and considers it a serious crime to refuse to serve. Netta was lucky. Others have had to face years in prison. Netta admits that “it’s a privilege to refuse sometimes. If your family is well off you’ll be fine. It depends who you are talking to.”

Netta and conscientious objectors like her are extremely rare to find in Israeli society. Unquestioningly serving in the military has become the norm, so it is difficult for many people to question serving the army because it’s essential in being considered part of Israeli society. Apart from time in prison, refusing to serve in the Israeli military has many other consequences for young Israelis, such as: loss of scholarship and financial aid opportunities, banishment from Israeli politics, difficulty in finding a job, loss of family and social support, and much more.

Raz revealed that what bothered her most with the requirement of serving in the Israeli military was the military indoctrination youth in Israel are put through. In a society that justifies the occupation and apartheid of Palestine because of the Holocaust during World War II, the Shministim (high school seniors) go to Auswitz and are indoctrinated with vengeance to realize that serving the military will somehow bring their people retribution for the crimes of Europe. “I’m an Israeli, but Anti-Zionist… I have an Israeli nationality but I don’t believe in Israel only for the Jews… I feel that it is very unhealthy that Israel even calls these people Jews. They mix it, they don’t allow you to be Israeli if you’re not a Jew… it’s really complicated…”

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