Israeli teen ‘refusers’ risk jail by dodging conscription

Alex Croft talks to the teenagers who don't want to wage war

- ALEX CROFT

Six months in an Israeli military prison and branded a traitor by friends - it has been a tough year for Itamar Greenberg.

The 19-year-old Israeli Jew made the rare decision to refuse conscription to the IDF last August as it waged its devastating war in Gaza. Instead, Itamar accepted half a year behind bars alongside military criminals.

“I have lost friends, sadly,” he tells The Independent. “I have a lot of friends who are soldiers, some of them decided to cut our connection. They actually think I’m a traitor. I understand what they feel, but obviously I don’t agree.”

Since his release four months ago, Itamar has continued supporting fellow young refusers willing to risk ostracisation from Israeli society by defying the mandatory order for all Jewish, Druze or Circassian citizens of Israel to serve years with the IDF.

Men must serve at least 32 months in the army, while women must serve at least 24 months. Israeli Arabs, religious women, married individuals, and those deemed medically or mentally unfit are exempt from compulsory military service, the IDF says on its website.

Last Tuesday, a group of young refusers burnt their army draft letters during a rally in Tel Aviv. Another protest also took place in Jerusalem on Tuesday this week, when ultra-orthodox Jews blocked a highway to protest military conscription - although their objection is centred around protecting their strong religious identity, as opposed to conscientious objections to the IDF's actions in Gaza.