A letter from Arkady, who was imprisoned last year for his refusal, to protesters in Prague, Czech Republic.
Hello, my name is Arkady. I’m a student at Tel Aviv University and a member of “Mesarvot”
I know that from Prague, far from occupied Palestine, the fight against the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing committed by Israel is hard. I know that for each one of you who is in this fight, it may feel like things are not getting better, and they aren’t. But you always have the opportunity to oppose the genocide, and that is what you are doing today. Seeing the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in Gaza, one can’t remain silent. Solidarity and humanity should not be confined by geographical borders or geographical proximity.
We here in occupied Palestine, as members of the “Mesarvot” movement, choose to oppose the genocide by refusing to enlist in the Israeli army. “Mesarvot” is a movement that provides support to those choosing to refuse service in the Israeli army. Some of us have paid for the decision to refuse with our freedom and served prison sentences in Israeli military jails. We continue to protest and organize against this ongoing genocide despite political persecution, police brutality, and countless attempts to silence us.
Sadly, through years of Israeli governments funneling money into Israel’s military and the development of weapons by Israeli weapons manufacturers, the weapons industry in Israel has become very advanced. Israel is the world’s seventh-largest weapons exporter, and that is a huge reason why the Israeli army is able to do what it has been doing. We all know that Europe is currently in an arms race that escalated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This arms race has made Israeli weapons a hot commodity in Europe, and it comes at the expense of Palestinian lives.
Of course, Europe is not to blame for the ongoing genocide in Gaza, that responsibility lies with the Zionist movement and Israeli society, at least in my opinion. But that doesn’t mean that Europe should engage in trade with Israel’s government and the war criminals at its head. You, as Czech citizens, are right to demand that your government not be complicit in Israel’s crimes. Truly, you could have closed your eyes to things happening so far away from you, but you are not doing that, and that is truly admirable.
To those of you who are Jewish may hear certain voices criticizing you for not supporting Israel. It is important for me to say that they are wrong. You should not support Israel’s actions because you are Jewish, in the same way that you should not be blamed for them. You should not support Zionism just because you are Jewish. “Never again” is for everybody. We, as Jews, should stand up against injustice, especially if it is happening in our name.
To Czech officials meeting with Gideon Sa’ar and representatives of Elbit Systems, I want to say: I hope you know how much suffering your decisions bring. I hope you see the images from Gaza of Israel’s victims and decide to stand on the right side of history, the side that opposes genocide and ethnic cleansing.
To you protesters, I urge you: don’t stop fighting for what is right. Don’t give up, and don’t think that somebody else will do what is right instead of you.
Thank you.