In Israel, a growing number of people are courageously refusing to serve in the IDF. These “refuseniks” know they might end up in jail for their convictions. This movement is a new wave of passionate and dedicated doers shown here by people like Itamar Greenberg and Lior Fogel. Motivated by their convictions, they’ve refused to join up with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Their actions raise an important discussion about the moral and ethical dilemmas of Israel’s militaristic culture. They illuminate the deep damage this militarism wreaks on our society.
Refuseniks are known as refusers, or more commonly, refuseniks. Those who refuse the compulsory Israel military conscription. The Israeli military does its best to maintain statistics on draft dodgers a state secret. This scarcity of data makes it more difficult for us to grasp the depth and breadth of this movement’s impact. Those who escape conscription by obtaining mental or general health exceptions are called “grey refuseniks.” Itamar Greenberg, a young refusenik, is one such dissenter who has taken this road of conscientious objection. Over the last year, Greenberg has welcomed possible prison time. Combined on five back-to-back sentences, he has accrued 197 days of jail time. Relatively speaking, his time in prison has been rather uneventful. After getting threatened by other inmates, he too was switched to solitary confinement.
Greenberg’s choice to not accept enlistment is an understandable expression of his commitment to inspiring a deeper conversation. He is interested in outlining the toxic effects of a militarized culture on society. Climbed up under the hood Refuseniks such as Greenberg hope to light a mainstream conversation on this score. Yet, even today, their opinions remain at the margins, including on the increasingly marginal Israeli left.
Another refusenik, Lior Fogel, shares similar sentiments. We have seen Fogel express skepticism about the army as an institution, doubting its very foundations in violence, coercion, and force. In order to escape conscription, Fogel needed a psychiatrist’s certification of a mental health condition. For refuseniks like Fogel and Greenberg, echoing this trend, they are another manifestation of a vocal, growing movement that is shaking the foundations of Israel’s militant traditions.
This movement comes against the backdrop of growing international outrage at Israel’s violent assault on the people of Gaza. The Israeli government has vehemently rejected claims that its military operations in Gaza constitute genocide against Palestinians. Nonetheless, Amnesty International and other human rights groups have already established that Israel practices apartheid against Palestinians. This new context is what fuels the refuseniks including Greenberg & Fogel. They want to be warriors for change, to end the war in Gaza.
The refuseniks’ readiness to face years of imprisonment rather than join the IDF speaks to the depth of conviction they have for their cause. Their actions challenge the conventional understanding of military service as a sacred cow and rite of passage in Israeli society. This transformation is illustrating a powerful trend that is asking difficult moral questions about the impact of that service.
