They Prefer Prison: Unprecedented Increase in the Number of Service Refusers in the Occupation Army.

An Israeli leftist organization revealed on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, an unprecedented increase in the number of people refusing to serve in the Israeli occupation army during its ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since October 7. Despite the army imposing prison sentences on those who refuse to serve, the organization reported.

The Israeli organization “There Is a Limit” shared a statement on the platform “X” from Sofia Orr, one of the refusers of military service.

Orr stated, “I am prepared to continue paying the price and remain in prison if it prevents the dehumanization from continuing in complete silence. I must say, even from prison: they (the Palestinians) are human beings.”

According to the organization, the authorities imprisoned Orr for a period due to her refusal to perform military service. Orr added, “There is a vast difference between an army that performs missions where injustices are committed and another whose entire activity is injustices. This army (the Israeli one) is not meant for defense but for invasion and oppression.”

“There Is a Limit” was founded in 1982 as a “political movement aimed at supporting refusers (of military service),” according to its website. The organization believes that “every citizen in a democratic state must decide on their red lines when serving in the army and which actions cross those lines.”

The organization added, “Alongside members of the movement who refuse to serve in the army and seek an alternative form of national service, there are those who oppose the occupation and wars that are not defensive.” The organization aims to “influence public opinion against optional wars and the occupation of Palestinian territories,” according to its website.

Large Numbers

Additionally, the Hebrew news site “Zman Israel” reported that “There Is a Limit” indicated a “recent increase in the number of leftists refusing to enlist in protest against the government’s policy towards the Palestinians.”

The war on Gaza has resulted in over 117,000 Palestinians being killed or injured, most of them children and women, with about 10,000 missing amidst massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

The organization noted that “the increase in the number of refusers during the current war is unprecedented.”

The site quoted the organization’s spokesperson, Yishai Menohin, who stated that he “assisted about 40 soldiers who refused to enlist in the reserves during the current war” and that “other activists in the organization helped dozens more. Overall, the organization received about 100 requests for assistance from military service refusers,” according to the site.

Menohin added, “This compares to about 10-15 requests annually over the past decade and about 40 requests annually during the peak years of the Lebanon War (2006) and the two Intifadas in the Palestinian territories (1987 and 2000).”

Menohin said, “The refusers started contacting us in mid-October last year, and they continued until the last few days.”

 Sharp Increase

According to “Zman Israel,” another leftist group that encourages refusal of service, called “Refusers,” reported a “sharp increase in the number of rebellious reservists seeking their assistance, referring them to other organizations.”

The site also quoted leftist activist David Zonshein, founder of the “Courage to Refuse” movement, who stated that he received “requests for help from dozens of refusers during the current war, especially in recent months, which is much more than the requests received in recent years.”

“In the early months of the war, there was an increase in the number of refusers due to the vast number of recruits, which reached about 300,000. However, in recent months, the scope of reserve recruitment has significantly decreased, while the number of refusers continued to grow,” according to the site.

Zonshein attributed this to “the complexity of the war, the committed war crimes, and the increasing protest against the government’s behavior. In addition to ideological refusal, there are refusals from soldiers exhausted by the prolonged war.”

The site added that “at the end of April, about 30 reservists from the Paratroopers Brigade, who were called to serve in Rafah (south), announced their refusal to serve.”

It explained that “the long months of fighting have harmed their studies, livelihoods, and families, causing them emotional and physical distress.”

As of 15:00 GMT, the army has not commented on the “Zman Israel” report.

Israel continues its war on Gaza despite orders from the International Court of Justice to halt the ground attack on the city of Rafah (south) immediately, take interim measures to prevent “genocide,” and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip.

Israel also ignores the intention of the International Criminal Court to issue international arrest warrants against its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their responsibility for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” in Gaza.