Left-wing high schoolers describe how the anti-government protests have provided a window for the mainstreaming of views long deemed illegitimate. Young people are more willing to hear about the occupation, army refusal is growing more widespread.
Shahar Perets, who was sentenced to prison for refusing to join the Israeli army, talks about meeting Palestinians for the first time, her visits to the West Bank, and how Israeli society represses the occupation.
Reader Comments: Day Like No Other; Police Enabled the Far-Right Mob; Trump Incited Sedition, Must Be Removed; Major Newspapers Call For Impeachment; Georgia Runoff; Palestine; Guantánamo Bay prison; Rev. James Lawson; Nuclear Ban Treaty; more...
Reader Comments: Biden First 100 Days; What Kind of COVID Stimulus; Unions and Green New Deal; Who Gets Social Security; Wear a Mask; Antisemitism; Jeremy Corbyn Affair; Refusing to Serve in Israeli Army; Intifada 33rd anniversary; lots of resources;
Conscientious objector Hallel Rabin was sentenced to 25 days behind bars for refusing to join the Israeli army over its policies toward the Palestinians. This is Rabin’s third period of incarceration.
He is a rarity in his own land, one of only a handful of refuseniks living in Israel.
Conscientious objector Tair Kaminer, 19, was sentenced to another 45 days in military prison on Sunday for refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The sentence will be the sixth term served by Kaminer. She has already served some 125 days in lock-up. By the time Kaminer completes her latest sentence, she will have spent almost 170 days in military detention. She has served more time in military prison than any conscientious objector before her. (Haaretz*)
Reader Comments: The Life and Death of Daniel Berrigan; Gary Tyler Free After More Than 40 Years; Does an Inside-Outside Strategy Have a Chance? - The People's Summit; Sanders' Impact on Millennials; Digital history project - When Socialists Won Elections; Get Cops Out of Schools; What's the Israeli Army Afraid Of? - Tair Kaminer Fights On;
Italian Court Rules Food Theft 'Not a Crime' If Hungry; Rolling Stones to Trump: Stop Using Their Songs at Campaign Events
I stand against the government's saber-rattling, against ruling over and harming a civil population. It's important to me to say: No more! I'm not willing to take part in that. I want to represent a different path, to show that there's a choice and that it's possible to resist. Through my refusal I choose to represent a path of solidarity and peace, and I believe this path will create a more secure life for us all.
The idea of Israel has long been an integral part of Jewish-American identity. But with a generational change among American Jews and increasingly stark political differences with Israel's leadership, could this be the dawn of a new era?
Spread the word