REFUSENIKS IN ISRAEL

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2009 :: RMTnews 18 If you lived in Israel, you would not have been able to start working in the transport industry after finishing school. You would have to serve in the military instead. If you have teenage sons or daughters, they would be called up for service, and you would no doubt be anxious as they left home for the Palestinian territories brutally occupied by Israel for over 40 years. But some teenagers are refusing to go, unwilling to play a part in the continuing violent repression of the Palestinians and denial of their human and national rights. They are known as the Shministim (Hebrew for “high school students”), and have spent repeated spells in prison for their defiance, but have also attracted support for their courageous stand from around the world – including from RMT. The Shministim have been refusing military service since before the Israeli army's recent assault on Gaza, but that operation – which claimed more than 1,000 Palestinian lives – has hardened their resolve. RMT condemned the war on Gaza with general secretary Bob Crow saying: "Common humanity demands that the world tells the Israeli government that it must stop the bombing and end the inhuman blockade." As she entered prison, 19- year-old Army refuser Maya Yechieli Wind explained her stance, saying, "One form of violence cannot stop another. This current violence is the result of decades of ongoing occupation of the territories and sieges on Gaza since the disengagement. I mourn the unnecessary deaths of both Palestinians and Israelis." RMT believes that Israel should withdraw from the Palestinian territories to its pre- 1967 borders and supports the Palestinians' aspiration for an independent state alongside Israel. The union does not support Hamas, nor do we condone rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. “Everyone is conscripted into the Israeli army at 18, but when I was 16 I began to have doubts about putting trust in our generals” Tamar Katz told the RMT Women’s conference in Newcastle at the beginning of March. Tamar was addressing the conference as part of a tour which has found her speaking at trade union, student union and other meetings from Brighton to Edinburgh. Tamar spoke to RMT News after the meeting about how she came to decide to refuse to be drafted, a choice that has led the 19-year-old to serve three spells in Israeli military prisons. “I live in Tel Aviv, which is largely removed from the everyday realities of occupation and war. There is more freedom for Israelis who live in Tel Aviv than elsewhere, it’s a city just like any other in the world” Tamar says. At the age of 16, like other Israeli schoolchildren, Tamar went to an Israeli military base where the youths were expected to give an indication of what sort of job in the army they might want. However, a tour organised by “Breaking the Silence”, a group of ex-soldiers opposed to the occupation, opened Tamar’s eyes to the reality of occupation. What she saw of the way people live under occupation in Hebron – a world away from life in Tel Aviv – was enough for her to make up her mind that it wasn’t something that she wanted to be a part of. In 2008 Tamar was one of some 20 young Israeli’s who refused to serve in the armed forces. She said at first that the military authorities didn’t believe that her refusal was either serious or politically motivated. “At first they just thought I was another young person who didn’t want to be parted from their family. They gave me several opportunities to change my mind, but when they RATHER GO TO Tamar Katz tell RMT News why she won’t be conscripted REFUSENIKS The Israeli youths who refuse to be part of a brutal occupation By Janine Booth