Hello,
My name is Ayana Gerstmann and last August I spent a month in prison for refusing to join the Israeli occupation army. Just over two weeks ago we woke up to the news that the US and Israel had bombed a girl’s school in Iran, killing more than 170 civilians, most of them young girls.
As if we didn’t have enough with the daily massacres in Gaza, Netanyahu and his bloodthirsty generals launched yet another war of aggression on the sovereign nation of Iran. Still, most people in Israeli society remain silent! On another front, young soldiers my age are being sent to invade Lebanon, to kill and be killed, perpetuating this endless cycle of violence. We have witnessed tens of thousands of women and children killed in Gaza, hundreds of thousands expelled from their homes, entire communities wiped out so settlers can seize their land in the West Bank, and yet a majority of Israeli society chooses to look away.
But I cannot stay silent in the face of killing, destruction, and suffering. I cannot be silent in a society where silence has taken over. If I am, then I become complicit in the crime.
This is why I chose to refuse, hoping my voice might open the eyes of others in this society. I paid the price for that choice and so have other refusers who risk themselves every day, fighting to wake this country from its tragic numbness.
Refusers Itamar Greenberg and Ella Kider in protests last year
Just last week Itamar Greenberg, who spent 6 months in prison for refusing the Genocide last year, was beaten and abused by police during an anti‑war protest in Tel Aviv/Yaffa and later appeared on national TV stating: “We won’t be silenced. We will continue to protest against the war in Iran, the genocide in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, the attacks in Lebanon and Syria, anywhere Israeli aggression reaches.”
Similarly, Ella Kider, who was held in solitary confinement last May by the occupation authorities for refusing enlistment, challenged Israeli propaganda in a TV interview asking: “How do you plan to free the Iranian women when they are buried under the earth?”
Ella, Itamar and I decided to raise our voices. It’s time for you to join, don’t be complicit with your silence!
In solidarity,
Ayana Gerstmann