Young musician refuses to join military service to protest against occupation violence

“I was raised first and foremost as a human being, and as such I feel that I cannot possibly aim an assault weapon at any other human being, be it Arab, Jewish or whomever, and so it has always been clear to me that I will not be able to join the army,” says Omar Sa’ad, a young communist Arab-Druze viola player from the village of Maghar. Sa’ad is now expected to be sentenced in a disciplinary proceeding to a period of up to one month in military prison for refusing conscription after reporting to an Israeli induction base Wednesday morning.

Sa'ad, friends and supporters at a vigil and concert outside induction base (Photo: Activestills)

Sa’ad, friends and supporters at a vigil and concert outside induction base (Photo: Activestills)

Sa’ad was accompanied to the Tiberias induction base, where he was ordered to report, by activists from the Communist Party of Israel and Hadash, including MK Muhammad Barakeh and Young Communist League General Secretary, Amjad Shbeita, and by activists from New Profile, Yesh Gvul and other young conscientious objectors. Supporters held a vigil and concert at the gates of the induction center. One person was detained at the end of the vigil.

It is known that authorities tend to be harsher with Arab-Druze objectors than with Jewish ones. “I know I’m going to prison, and I know there’s no way of telling how long it’ll be, but I am willing to endure this and not be a part of their army,” Sa’ad told +972 website on the evening before reporting to refuse duty. It was over a year ago when Sa’ad was first approached by military authorities and required to report for physical examinations and personal interviews. While Jewish objectors usually show up for these tests and announce their refusal there, it is customary amongst Arab-Druze objectors to refuse any kind of cooperation with the army. Such was the case with Sa’ad – instead of showing up he sent the defense minister and prime minister the following letter: “I refuse [the draft] because I am a man of peace who despises violence of all sorts; I think the military is based on both physical and mental violence. Since I got the draft order my life has changed, I became more nervous, my thoughts have become distracted, I remembered thousands of dreadful images, and I couldn’t imagine myself wearing military uniform and participating in the suppression of my Palestinian people or fighting my Arab brothers.

“I oppose recruitment to the IDF and any other army for conscience and nationalistic reasons. I despise injustice and oppose occupation; I loath intolerance and restriction of freedoms. I hate those who detain children, the elderly and women. I am a musician, I play the Viola, I have preformed in many places and I have musician friends in Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Shfa’amr, Eilabun, Rome, Athens, Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Oslo, and we all play for freedom, humanity and peace, our weapon is the music and we shall not have any other weapon.

“I belong to a sect that suffers discrimination by law. How could I fight those who are closest to us, our family members in Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon? How could I hold a weapon against my siblings and countrymen in Palestine? How could I be a soldier at Qalandia or any other checkpoint stopping a Ramallah man from entering his city of Jerusalem when I myself have experienced the wrongs of checkpoints? How could I protect the racist separation fence? How could I be a jailer to my own people when I know that most prisoners are prisoners of justice and freedom?

“I play music of joy, of freedom and of a just peace that is based on the cessation of settlements, an exit of occupiers from Palestine and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a release of prisoners and a return of refugees to their homes.

Many in our sect obey the law and enlist – but what has that gotten us? Discrimination on all fronts, poverty in our villages, our lands’ confiscation, a lack of industry. Our villages suffer the lowest rates of university and the highest rates of unemployment. The Security Service Act has detached us from our Arab roots…. I will not be fuel to your fire of war and not a soldier in your army.”

Related:

A video of Sa’ad speaking with Social TV earlier this year:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/i-refuse-take-assault-rifle-and-point-it-another-human-being-2013-12-04