A reservist Israeli staff sergeant who is refusing army duty on political grounds has been sentenced to military prison for 28 days.
Tom Mehager told a military tribunal that he was no longer prepared to participate in the ''harassment'' of Palestinians in villages near the Rimonim checkpoint, northeast of Ram Allah.
Mehager, 27, refused to serve at the military outpost close to the Ofra settlement in the West Bank.
In an interview from his prison cell, he told Israeli military radio he was no longer prepared to carry out orders which in his opinion had ''no military value''.
After receiving his sentence, Mehager said: ''The punishment that has been handed down to me is nothing in comparison to what we are forcing on the Palestinians.''
...."One in three young people who qualify for serving in the Israeli army are now refusing to do so, for a whole range of reasons,'' said Mazali.
The Israeli organisation Courage to Refuse claims that there are 1000 Israelis who are refusing military duty for one reason or another, and a further 562 have pledged not to sign up.
''These individuals are the tip of the submerged iceberg. We are working towards building a truly civic society, which is against the occupation, against militarisation and for improving the lives of all citizens,'' said Mazali. article
Damned courageous if you ask me.
Men of conscience, I salute you.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
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