Police brutally arrested 10 activists in Haifa on Sunday, August 18, during a protest for 19-year-old Yona Roseman — jailed for refusing to enlist in the occupation army. Among them Youth Communist League members. Sunday evening, she was sentenced first to 30 days in military prison.
During the meeting, Roseman declared: “Israel is committing genocide, and we must resist.” “Her courage and the crackdown on her supporters highlight growing dissent inside Israel, where refusing to fight means facing prison time,” said Mesarvot network. Although the protesters did not block traffic or disrupt public space, the police informed them that they had to evacuate within minutes, claiming that the demonstration was illegal.
19-year-old Yona Roseman, jailed for refusing to enlist in the occupation army, during the protest held in front of the army’s induction center in Haifa, Sunday, August 18, 2025 (Photo: Mesarvot)
In her refusal statement, Roseman wrote: “Real recognition of the dimension of destruction our State sews, in the total suffering that it inculcates in its subjects, demands appropriate action. If you see the scale of the atrocities, and see yourselves as moral people, you cannot continue business as usual, despite the cost, social or legal. The State of Israel is committing genocide. Its moral authority is nullified with every child it buries underground; after tens of thousands, it disappears as if it never existed. Its institutions need not see a dime but be stained with the rivers of blood they spill. It commits no act that does not deserve condemnation, employs no agent which deserves respect, gives no order which deserves obedience, and makes no law that does not deserve violation. The State of Israel is committing genocide, and we must resist.”
Roseman joined draft refusers Ayana Gerstmann and Yuval Pelleg, who were sentenced to 30 and 20 days in prison, respectively, at the end of July, and refuser “R”, an 18-year-old from Holon, who refused to enlist earlier this week and was sentenced to 30 days in prison. These refusers are accompanied by Mesarvot, a political refusers network. In addition, there are several other anonymous refusers, whether regular soldiers or reservists, currently held in the Neve Tzedek military prison. Alongside the many who refuse to report without being imprisoned, this constitutes a clear wave of refusal.
Att. Noa Levy, a leading member of the Communist Party of Israel and legal advisor for Mesarvot, said: “The far-right government’s plans for a renewed occupation of Gaza City and the indefinite prolongation of the war have led to a significant wave of refusal. More soldiers, reservists, and youth approaching enlistment are turning to us for help in avoiding participation in the campaign. This wave of refusal shows that there is broad popular opposition to the ongoing war of destruction in Gaza, and a collapse of trust in the army and its missions.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32886
