Israel

Tue

Jan

2015

A Call on IASA Alumni to Refuse Mandatory and Reserve Duty Service in the Israeli Military

New translation available

Submitted by hannah

We, Israel Arts and Science Academy alumni, former staff members, Palestinians and Jews, from different ages and diverse world-views, approach you, alumni and future alumni – dare to refuse.

As human beings and citizens we each carry...

Thu

Nov

Israel: Activists refused to serve in the occupation

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 17/11/2016 - 16:25

On November 16, Tamar Ze'evi and Tamar Alon declared their refusal to serve in the occupation at the IDF’s Tel Hashomer induction base outside Tel Aviv. A military tribunal sentenced both to two days in prison (following which they will be brought back for another hearing, and possibly sentenced again). Many activists supported Ze'evi and Alon, and accompanied them to the military induction base.

Alongside their solidarity protests taking place as part of the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth, מסרבות (Mesarvot) -a network of Israeli organizations, groups and individuals who support political conscientious objectors- is also working on an international day of action to take place on 1st December.

Wed

Oct

Webinar: Countering the Militarisation of Youth: Examples of Resistance

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 26/10/2016 - 16:19

Young peoples' experiences of the military, and exposure to militarist values, differ around the world. In this webinar, we gathered examples of everyday militarism from two countries, Israel and Germany, and discussed with activists about their strategies and campaigns to counter it.

https://vimeo.com/188382465

Webinar: Countering the Militarisation of Youth: Examples of Resistance

Sat

Oct

Webinar: Countering the militarisation of youth: examples of resistance

Fri

Jul

WATCH: The militarism of Israel's youth movements

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 08/07/2016 - 11:15

Discourse on the soldiers, heroism and sacrifice increases on Memorial Day. But where these values come from? Some boys and girls who grew up to be soldiers, were educated in youth movements. What is the connection between youth movements and the army?

Source: Israel Social TV

WATCH: The militarism of Israel's youth movements

Sun

Jan

Israel Jails Teenager for Refusing to Serve in Occupation Army

Submitted by Gary on Sun, 31/01/2016 - 22:15

A 19-year-old Israeli woman who refused to do compulsory military service as a protest against the occupation of the Palestinian territories has been released from jail – but could return within days.

Tair Kaminer’s case has been the subject of fierce debate in Israel, driving calls for reform to laws punishing conscientious objectors, while seeing her labelled as a “traitor” by others.

Israel Jails Teenager for Refusing to Serve in Occupation Army

Wed

Jan

When did you get the gun?

Submitted by antimili-youth on Wed, 20/01/2016 - 18:05

Highschool studants waving israeli flags in Treblinka extermination camp as part of the Holocast remembrance trip to Poland

By Or Segal, Israel Social TV

Hello to you, little girl with a gun. You, who were dressed in a uniform, who was placed second row on the side, between your fellow pre-schoolers. You who marched to the beat and saluted to the sound of parents clapping in the Independence Day party. You wanted to make the largest Purim food package1 in class, you wrapped all the sweets in colourful paper. One older kid passed between the classroom and asked for an “educational shekel”2. You didn't even know what that was, but you gave three shekels anyway.

Thu

Dec

Everyday violence on Facebook: the Israeli Example

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 03/12/2015 - 12:24

By Robin Jones

Digital Militarism: Israel’s Occupation in the Social Media Age by Adi Kuntsman and Rebecca L. Stein (Stanford University Press)

Any social media user following Israel’s assault on the besieged Gaza Strip last summer may have encountered the slew of cartoons published on the Israeli army spokesperson’s Twitter account.

Intended to justify indiscriminate bombing by portraying Palestinian civilian buildings as legitimate targets, these slickly designed pictures were just one iteration of Israel’s online efforts to stem the PR backlash against its attack on Gaza.

Mon

Nov

Tel Aviv-Ramallah-Kigali: a peace-building journey

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 23/11/2015 - 19:26

"Forgiving is not forgetting, but moving forward and being stronger."

Tel Aviv-Ramallah-Kigali: a peace-building journey

Tue

Sep

Israel’s army and schools work hand in hand, say teachers

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 29/09/2015 - 12:03

By Jonathan Cook, Middle East Eye

Close ties means Israeli pupils are being raised to be "good soldiers" rather than good citizens

HAIFA - The task for Israeli pupils: to foil an imminent terror attack on their school. But if they are to succeed, they must first find the clues using key words they have been learning in Arabic.

Arabic lesson plans for Israel’s Jewish schoolchildren have a strange focus.

Those matriculating in the language can rarely hold a conversation in Arabic. And almost none of the hundreds of teachers introducing Jewish children to Israel’s second language are native speakers, even though one in five of the population belong to the country’s Palestinian minority.

The reason, says Yonatan Mendel, a researcher at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, is that the teaching of Arabic in Israel’s Jewish schools is determined almost exclusively by the needs of the Israeli army.

Fri

Feb

When IDF conscription begins at age three

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 27/02/2015 - 15:41

An education system that brings an inherently violent organization in through the front door is failing at its most basic obligation. This policy is the first injection of militarism, ultimately meant to prevent our children from becoming critical citizens.

Ten years ago, when my oldest daughter was five years old, I already had the honor of being the mother of a draft refuser.

One day, when she was in kindergarten, my young daughter came home with a notice from the kindergarten teacher asking parents to help their children prepare care packages for a soldier. The notice included a list of suggested items, and requested that the package include a drawing and letter from the child to the soldier.

I immediately called the kindergarten teacher and asked her if she didn’t think that four- and five-year-old children were a bit too young to be drafted into the Home Front Command. “What do you mean,” she responded, “It’s the most basic civic act!”

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.