Israel

Israel is the only country with conscription for women. Shani Werner, a woman activist with the Shministim and with New Profile, takes a look at women's draft resistance.

Shani Werner

Israel is the only country in the world that practises conscription for women. It is thus also the only country in the world where women's draft resistance exists.

Support to Israeli conscientious objectors is needed War Resisters' International Executive, 23 February 2003

The Executive Committee of War Resisters' International, the 81-year-old international network of pacifist organisations with 90 affiliates in 45 countries, expressed its grave concern about the situation of conscientious objectors to military service in Israel during its Executive meeting in London this weekend.

Yesh Gvul have found over the years that an effective way of supporting jailed refuseniks, is by having them adopted by support groups from outside of Israel.

Sergeiy Sandler

by Shani Werner, Rela Mazali English: Tal Haran

Israel is the only country in the world that practices conscription for women. It is thus also the only country in the world where women’s draft resistance exists. The movement of women draft resisters in Israel is constantly on the rise, but no data are available as to its exact extent. The army refrains from making such data known to the public.

Jaffa Military Court
91-93 Yeffet Street
Tel Aviv - Jaffa
Fax: +972-3-512646 -0 /-1

Trial of Uri Ya'acobi, conscientious objector
Military ID 7342725

Dear Judges,

This report focuses on the situation of conscientious objectors in Israel, especially in the last two years. The issue of conscientious objection is complex, with a variety of regulations for specific groups. However, it is generally characterised by the violation of the human right to conscientious objection.

On 21 September - the International Day of Peace, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly [1] - War Resisters' International and New Profile submit the case of conscientious objector Victor Sabranski, who was arrested five times for his refusal to enlist in the Israeli Defence Forces, to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In doing so, War Resisters' International and New Profile want to highlight that Israel still doesn't recognise the right to conscientious objection (for men), although it is widely accepted as a human righ

When one hears via foreign media of Israeli tanks rampaging in the streets of Palestinian cities (for some reason it's hardly ever on the news of the Israeli media), then we don't hear the whole truth.

Uri Ya'acobi
(Shortened version Ha'aretz, 18 August 2002)
(Full Text Ma'ariv, 22 August 2002)

To: Minister of Defence Ben Eliezer
Ministry of Defence

An officer for whom you are responsible has sentenced me today to 28 days in military prison for my refusal to serve in reserve duty. I did not refuse only to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as I have for the past 15 years, I refused to serve in the Israeli army in any capacity.

Several speakers were unhappy with the use of the term "non-war" in the title of this session. While situations in Israel, Yugoslavia (pre-'99) and Northern Ireland were neither full-scale war nor peace, speakers felt that the term "non-war" obscured the long-term, low-intensity nature of these conflicts

Support to Israeli conscientious objectors is needed

The Executive Committee of War Resisters' International, the 81-year-old international network of pacifist organisations with 90 affiliates in 45 countries, expressed its grave concern about the situation of conscientious objectors to military service in Israel during its Executive meeting in London this weekend. In light of the increased punishment of Israeli conscientious objectors, the Executive Committee calls on the Israeli government to recognise the human right to conscientious objection.