Citizens of Israel have refused to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or have disobeyed orders on the grounds of pacifism, antimilitarism, religious philosophy, or political disagreement with Israeli policy such as its occupation of the West Bank.Israeli 'draft dodgers' protest occupation – over 1/4 of men and 43% of women not enlisting. Verified 3 Oct 2007.Central European Journal of International and Security Studies Between Militarism and Pacifism: Conscientious Objection and Draft Resistance in Israel by Yulia Zemlinskaya Conscientious objectors in Israel are known as sarvanim (in Hebrew ) which is sometimes translated as "refuseniks", or mishtamtim (evaders, dodgers).פ"ע (להשתמט מ-) השתמט hishtamet – intransitive verb; le-hishtamet mi- = [to] dodge, evade, shirk. Oxford Hebrew-English-Hebrew dictionary, ed. Ya'acov Levy; English text from Oxford University Press 1994 Kernerman Publishing Ltd.
Aspects Causes Some distinguish between refusal to serve in the military because of a pacifist worldview that rejects any manifestation of violence and encompasses a refusal to submit to compulsory military service in any form, and partial refusal to serve, such as the Ometz Le'sarev (Courage to Refuse) group who "do their reserve duty wherever and whenever they are summoned, but refuse to serve in the occupied territories."'The Commandos have Courage to Refuse,' Seruv.org 2003. The diverse range of opinions regarding the refusal to serve is the reason why there is no single umbrella organization that encompasses all groups of refusers. While most instances of refusal to serve have historically been found among left-leaning Israelis, there is a rapidly expanding willingness among right-wing soldiers to refuse orders to evict Jews from settlements in the West Bank (and formerly in the Gaza Strip).
Religious exemption
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, Haredi Jews have refused to serve in the Israeli military for religious reasons. Typically, they study Torah in Yeshivas, and as such are legally exempt from military service. Also refusing any Israeli military service are people affiliated with various Hasidic anti-Zionist groups (most notably Satmar), the Brisk Yeshivas, and the Neturei Karta. Most of these groups are followers of the Edah HaCharedis. Haredi Jews who avoid military service yet are only part-time yeshiva students, have received criticism from within the Orthodox community.
Draft evasion among celebrities Some Israeli celebrities have evaded military service national service to further their careers. A 2007 incident that garnered international headlines focused on revelations in the press that Israeli Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Bar Refaeli had married a family friend in 2004 and divorced him soon after in order to avoid military service. Refaeli received widespread criticism, including from the Israeli Forum for the Promotion of Equal Share, to which she responded, "I really wanted to serve in the IDF, but I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time. That's just the way it is, celebrities have other needs. I hope my case has influenced the army."Israeli models Refaeli and Ginzburg at war over IDF The First Post In a compromise to avoid potential boycotts of companies Refaeli works with, she agreed to visit injured IDF soldiers on visits to Israel and encourage enlistment in the army. The incident made headlines again in October 2009 when fellow Israeli model Esti Ginzburg criticized Refaeli in an interview with Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, reigniting arguments over the ease with which conscription can be dodged.Israeli supermodels in catwalk spat over draft-dodging The Independent
Response to draft evasion Almost all the political factions in Israel have condemned refusal to serve on ideological grounds, using terms such as dangerous and undemocratic. The conscientious objectors, or refuseniks as they call themselves, found support within left-wing and the Arab parties, Hadash, Balad, Raam and parts of Meretz (Zehava Galon, Roman Bronfman and Shulamit Aloni). The Israeli Labor Party and other Meretz members have condemned the refuseniks and said that although their protests against the occupation are justified and understandable, the means they are taking to manifest it are wrong. Some major left-wing politicians expressed the fear that left-oriented refusal to serve in the territories will lend legitimacy to right-oriented refusal to remove settlements. Right wing politicians have claimed that the refuseniks' actions are helping the enemies of Israel in their anti-Israeli incitement. Some have even accused the refuseniks of treason during wartime. This viewpoint was given some support when the book The Seventh War, by Avi Yisacharov and Amos Harel was published in 2004; it contains extensive interviews with Hamas leaders, at least one of whom explicitly stated that the actions of the commandos' and pilots' letters encouraged to promote and continue the use of suicide bombers.
The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled in 2002 that refusal to serve was legal on the grounds of unqualified pacifism, but "selective refusal" which accepted some duties and not others was illegal. The court said that allowing selective refusal would "weaken the ties that bind us as a nation". The court also said that the refusal to serve in the territories is selective refusal and not conscientious objection.בית המשפט דחה עתירת סרבני השטחים אפרת וייס, 30 בדצמבר 2002 (אתר ווי נט)בג"ץ 7622/02 דוד זונשיין ואחרים נ' הפרקליט הצבאי הראשי, ניתן בתאריך כ"ה בטבת תשס"ג, 30 בדצמבר
From 1998 to 2000, 9.5% of applicants who filed for an exemption from service for conscientious reasons were granted it.
On January 4, 2004, a military tribunal imposed one-year prison terms on five young activists who refused to enlist in the IDF. The court accepted that the five acted in accordance with their conscience but "ruled that they did not refuse to serve as individuals, but rather as a group, with the explicit goal of bringing about a change in Israeli policy in the territories. As such, the court ruled, their action strayed from the norms of classic conscientious objection into the realm of civil disobedience" (Haaretz).
History Origins In Mandatory Palestine during World War II, when many military-age Jews from the Yishuv were joining the British military, a few conscientious objectors refused, and wrote to the headquarters of War Resisters' International in London about the social pressure they faced. A Palestine branch of War Resisters' International was founded in 1946 by one such conscientious objector, David Engel, who in 1943 had been expelled from Kfar Ruppin for refusing to enlist in the British Army. He reported that his group initially had about 40 members. In 1948, the year of Israel's declaration of independence, another member of the group, Joseph Abileah, was the first conscientious objector to be put on trial before a military court for refusing to serve in the IDF. He was excused from service in the army on the grounds of ill health, which according to him was a face-saving measure. A 1954 report in Haaretz judged the size of the group to be about 100. The group's greatest failure was to not have conscientious objection recognised in law. In general, persons who made their objections known before being called up were treated more leniently than those to objected after receiving their call-up notice. Members of the group held a variety of political opinions beside their common pacifism; while some were anti-Zionist most were not.
Although Israel has mandatory conscription, some Israelis do not serve in the military. Israeli Arabs are not drafted, though they may enlist, and increasing numbers serve voluntarily including at very senior level. Haredi conscription was also not mandatory for several decades based on arrangements with the Haredi community, where Haredim who dedicate full time for Torah study would be exempt from military service. Many people who are "unfit" or "unqualified", either mentally or physically, are also exempt. Military service can often be postponed for further education—either college or university, or technical studies. Finally, a number of people refuse to serve because of pacifist views, because they believe the IDF is not an army of defense, or refuse certain orders based on their disagreement with government policy.
In February 2004, Israeli Chief of Personnel Major-General Gil Regev told a Knesset committee that the number of soldiers refusing to serve in the territories had dramatically decreased in 2003 despite the increase in the number of high-profile refusals. He said that eighteen reserve soldiers and eight officers had been imprisoned for refusal in 2003 compared to 100 reservists and 29 officers in 2002, a decrease of 80%. Members of the refusers' organization Yesh Gvul claimed in reply that actually 76 people, including eleven officers, had been jailed for refusal in 2003. They also said that 79 soldiers and eighteen officers had added their names to the Courage to Refuse letter in 2003, and that the number of high-school refuseniks had risen to 500.
The first well-known instance of an individual refusing to serve in the IDF occurred in 1954 when Amnon Zichroni, a lawyer, asked to be released from military service as a pacifist. Initially, then Minister of Defense Pinhas Lavon refused to release Zichroni, though he was eventually discharged from the army reserves.
Shministim movement On April 28, 1970, a group of high school seniors about to be drafted sent a letter to Prime Minister Golda Meir expressing their reservation about the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the War of Attrition and the government's failure to take steps to avoid conflict. In 1987, a new group was formed, also made up of high school students intent on refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories. They gave themselves the name that the press used to dub the previous effort – 'Shministim' ("). In 2001, a high-school refusers movement – also called Shministim followed in their stead. Over 3,000 Israeli high school students are currently members of Shministim. . A smaller number of them have also signed a public letter in which they state their intent to refuse any service in the army. Such a behaviour has usually resulted in repeated jail sentences of several weeks. One of the most prominent Shiministim that went to jail is Omer Goldman. Her case received special attention since her father used to be one of the highest ranking Mossad officers.
On December 18, 2008, a worldwide campaign was launched in order to request the freedom of Shministim, including the delivery of more than forty thousand letters, to Israeli embassies, appealing for her cause.
Yesh Gvul movement Yesh Gvul (Hebrew: , can be translated as "there is a limit" or "the border exists") is a movement founded in 1982 at the outbreak of the Lebanon War by reservists who refused to serve in Lebanon. A petition, delivered to Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was signed by 3,000 reservists, some of whom were court martialed and served time in military prison for refusing to obey orders. Currently, it sees its main role as "backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature." It also engages in human rights activities, such as petitioning British courts to issue arrest warrants for IDF officers accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.Haaretz War crimes prosecution overseas: How should Israel respond?