On Monday November 19th, Natan Blanc, a 19 years old Israeli from Haifa, show up at the recruitment bureau and informed officers there of his refusal to serve in the IDF. His act of conscientious refusal is directly connected to the current situation and the army’s acts in Gaza. He took this decision even before hearing the terrible news of women and children being killed by the Israeli Air Force:
“I began thinking about refusing to join the Israeli Army during the ‘Cast Lead’ operation in 2008. The wave of aggressive militarism that swept the country then, the expressions of mutual hatred, and the vacuous talk about stamping out terror and creating a deterrent effect were the primary trigger for my refusal. Today, after four years full of terror, without a political process [towards peace negotiations], and without quiet in Gaza and Sderot, it is clear that the Netanyahu Government, like that of his predecessor Olmert, is not interested in finding a solution to the existing situation, but rather in preserving it. From their point of view, there is nothing wrong with our initiating a ‘Cast Lead 2’ operation every three or four years (and then 3, 4, 5 and 6): we will talk of deterrence, we will kill some terrorist, we will lose some civilians on both sides, and we will prepare the ground for a new generation full of hatred on both sides.
A Palestinian holding one of the Abu al-Dalu children who was killed the day before, when an Israeli missile destroyed the family’s home, on November 18, 2012. Thousands participated in the funeral of the Abu al-Dalu family in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, November 19, 2012. Eleven Palestinians, including four women and four children of the family were killed in that attack (Photo: Activestills.org)
“As representatives of the people, members of the cabinet have no duty to present their vision for the futures of the country, and they can continue with this bloody cycle, with no end in sight. But we, as citizens and human beings, have a moral duty to refuse to participate in this cynical game. That is why I have decided to refuse to be inducted into the Israeli Army on the date of my call-up order, November 19, 2012.”
Also on Monday, dozens of Israeli intellectuals and leading artists called on Prime Minister and his ministers to work to obtain a ceasefire and dialogue which will lead to a peace agreement. The petition was signed by authors Amos Oz, Joshua Sobol and Yoram Kaniuk, dancer and choreographer Ohad Naharin, artistic director Smadar Yaaron, Hebrew literature Prof. Nissim Calderon, director Doron Tsabari and dancer Renana Raz, among others.
“We feel the pain of Israel’s southern residents, who have been sentenced to live in mortal fear for years,” the petition says, stressing that “it is the government’s right and obligation to defend you, but this is not the right way. Periods of peace and quiet were always the result of a dialogue and agreement. We have already assassinated terrorists and launched military operations s well as invaded Gaza, and nothing has changed apart from more killing and more hatred.” “The residents of the south, like the residents of Gaza, deserve to look up to the sky with hope rather than with fear,” they added.
