Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Itamar Greenberg, 18, spent 197 days in jail for refusing Israel’s mandatory conscription.
He told the human rights charity Amnesty that he “did not want to be involved in perpetrating genocide”, a claim that Israel rejects.
A growing number of young people are becoming conscientious objectors, but the overall total remains tiny: only a dozen Israeli teens have publicly refused to enlist in the army on conscientious grounds since the start of the war in Gaza.
In doing so they face prison sentences as well as social ostracisation in a country where military service is seen as a national duty.
The group of people who seek an exemption on medical grounds is much larger.
Every year one in five young people refuse to serve, a figure includes both conscientious objectors and so-called ‘grey refuseniks’.
Photo credits: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
