refusers

Left to right: Evyatar Moshe Rubin, Einat Gerlitz, Nave Shabtay Levin, and Shahar Schwartz, conscientious objectors refusing to enlist in the Israeli army, August 2022. (Oren Ziv)

‘Refusing is the minimum’: Why these Israeli teens are objecting to army service

Ahead of imprisonment, four conscientious objectors share their reasons for refusing conscription and their hopes of inspiring opposition to apartheid.

By Oren Ziv September 2, 2022

Israeli conscientious objector Atalya Ben-Abba. (Yona Benstein)

Israeli army jails conscientious objector for fourth time

Atalya Ben-Abba, 19, has already served 80 days in jail for refusing to enlist in the IDF and participate in the occupation. Israeli conscientious objector Atalya Ben-Abba, 19, was on Wednesday sentenced to a fourth stint in jail for refusing to enlist in the IDF. She has already spent 80 days in prison. Ben-Abba, a…

By Orly Noy May 25, 2017

Asylum seekers from Darfur take part in the 11th memorial day for the genocide in Darfur, in Levinsky park, South Tel Aviv, April 30, 2014.

Photos of the week: Remembering a genocide

This week: remembering Darfur, asylum seekers in Belgium, refusing military service, tear gas in Nil’in, Bedouins face demolitions in the Negev, Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike, housing struggles in Israel, and Ethiopian Jews protest discrimination.

By Activestills May 2, 2014

Latest

Israeli policemen advance as Bedouin youth throw stones during a protest against the Israeli government's Prawer Plan, near the town of Hura, Israel, on November 30, 2013 near the town of Hura, Israel. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

A week in photos: Days of rage

This week: Anti-Prawer Plan protests from south to north, tear gas weapons on a Bethlehem Christmas tree, a Druze refusenik, a fake fur fashion show, a water break during clashes, an Emmy-winner against the wall, Ethiopians arrested, Al-Araqib endures demolition, Afghan asylum seekers in Europe, and the ongoing humiliations of occupation. Photos: Activestills.org …

By Activestills December 5, 2013

Layla Issawi, mother of the hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi, is seen in the Galilee town of Sakhnin during the Land Day demonstration, March 30, 2013. Land Day commemorates the death of six Palestinian protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Palestinian land in northern Israel. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

From Land Day to prisoner solidarity: A week in photos

This week: commemorations of Land Day across Israel and the West Bank, solidarity marches in the South Hebron Hills, clashes ensue after a prisoner’s death, an Israeli draft refuser, and South Africans march for justice.

By Activestills April 4, 2013

Natan Blanc (courtesy of the family)

Are Israel’s refusers modern day heroes?

All facets of refusal may be instrumental in changing the conscription process and refusal to serve in the Israeli military is not always the outcome of opposing the Occupation. It takes courage and demands fortitude and wide support. By Ruth L. Hiller Different people refuse to enlist in Israel’s occupation army for a variety of reasons.…

By +972 Magazine March 13, 2013

Natan Blanc (courtesy of the family)

Young Israeli conscientious objector sentenced to sixth consecutive prison term

Natan Blanc (19) has been in and out of prison for three months now. On November 19, Blanc informed authorities of his conscientious objection to enlist to the Israeli army due to the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories and the constant militarization of the Israeli society which it entails. Since his initial refusal to be…

By Haggai Matar February 13, 2013

With Israelis from Tel Rumeida settlement looking from above, Israeli soldiers arrest Ahmad Al-Atrash of B'tselem for filming confrontations between settlers, the Al Azzeh family who had just harvested their olives, and the military, October 22, 2012. The arrest followed the first time the Al Azzeh family was able to harvest their olives since 2007. Despite coordinating with the appropriate authorities, their harvest was disrupted by Israelis from the adjacent Tel Rumeida settlement, which like all settlements, is illegal under international law. (photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

A week in photos: October 18-24

The olive harvest, an attempt at breaking the siege on Gaza, Palestinian elections and more. Activestills images tell the stories of the week.

By Activestills October 25, 2012

Protestors stopped traffic on Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv (Oren Ziv / Activestills)

Group of J14 activists to refuse their military reserve duty

While thousands of J14 activists took to the streets and blocked main roads in major cities Sunday night, a group of reserve service soldiers is forming a new agenda of conscientious objection in protest of neo-liberalism and the lack of social justice. “I will no longer defend a state that doesn’t defend its citizens,” says…

By Haggai Matar July 15, 2012

IDF on ‘hunt’ for draft dodgers, deserters

According to Israeli military records, there are a 2,700 deserters and 1,780 draft dodgers in Israel. In the last week alone, the IDF has arrested 474 of them as part of its largest-ever operation to apprehend them. Who are these “deserters”and in whose interest is it to invest so much of the military’s resources to…

By Haokets May 21, 2012