- Nov 22, 2010
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“There has been an ongoing genocide since the beginning of Zionism. It didn't start in 1948 (the year Israel was established) or in 1967 (the year East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza were occupied).
“Prior to that, there was settler colonialism. They wanted to use this land (Palestine) and its people (Palestinians) for their own interests. However, this situation cannot continue like this,” Davidov said.
In Israel, a minority of the society composed of Jewish youths who refuse to serve in the military, even at the risk of imprisonment, are against the occupation of Palestinian lands and the bombing of civilians in Gaza.
The mandatory military service in Israel lasts for 32 months for males who reach the age of 18 and 24 months for females. Anyone who refuses to serve may face imprisonment of up to 200 days and societal pressure.
Nevertheless, there are Jewish youths who refuse to enlist in the Israeli army on the grounds that it oppresses Palestinians.
One of them is 18-year-old Tal Mitnick. Mitnick told Anadolu that he holds the belief that the Israeli army oppresses Palestinians in the Bat Yam area in southern Tel Aviv.
Mitnick, who just graduated from high school, said he refused to join the military.
“I believe that the Israeli army is an operational arm of Jewish exclusivism in this region. (This army) relies on the oppression of the Palestinian people, and I refuse to be a part of this oppression. Instead, I continue with human rights activism,” he said.
Mitnick said that while those sharing his beliefs are in the minority in Israel, he also indicated that this situation is gradually starting to shift.
The Jewish youth described Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 as "horrendous" and stated that people have turned their anger over this attack into a sense of revenge.
Mitnick, on the other hand, added that he prefers to turn this into a feeling of "desiring more security for everyone" rather than revenge.
‘I don't want to serve in a racist army’
Another Jewish young person who refused to serve in the Israeli army, Ella Keidar, expressed her belief that everyone has the right to live freely and well.
“Prior to that, there was settler colonialism. They wanted to use this land (Palestine) and its people (Palestinians) for their own interests. However, this situation cannot continue like this,” Davidov said.
In Israel, a minority of the society composed of Jewish youths who refuse to serve in the military, even at the risk of imprisonment, are against the occupation of Palestinian lands and the bombing of civilians in Gaza.
The mandatory military service in Israel lasts for 32 months for males who reach the age of 18 and 24 months for females. Anyone who refuses to serve may face imprisonment of up to 200 days and societal pressure.
Nevertheless, there are Jewish youths who refuse to enlist in the Israeli army on the grounds that it oppresses Palestinians.
One of them is 18-year-old Tal Mitnick. Mitnick told Anadolu that he holds the belief that the Israeli army oppresses Palestinians in the Bat Yam area in southern Tel Aviv.
Mitnick, who just graduated from high school, said he refused to join the military.
“I believe that the Israeli army is an operational arm of Jewish exclusivism in this region. (This army) relies on the oppression of the Palestinian people, and I refuse to be a part of this oppression. Instead, I continue with human rights activism,” he said.
Mitnick said that while those sharing his beliefs are in the minority in Israel, he also indicated that this situation is gradually starting to shift.
The Jewish youth described Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 as "horrendous" and stated that people have turned their anger over this attack into a sense of revenge.
Mitnick, on the other hand, added that he prefers to turn this into a feeling of "desiring more security for everyone" rather than revenge.
‘I don't want to serve in a racist army’
Another Jewish young person who refused to serve in the Israeli army, Ella Keidar, expressed her belief that everyone has the right to live freely and well.
A group of Israeli youth refusing to serve in army oppose bombing of Gaza, occupation of Palestine
While speaking to Anadolu in a park near Tel Aviv, young Jewish people confronted verbally, physically by another group of fanatical war supporters - Anadolu Ajansı
www.aa.com.tr