The Refusers
Yona Roseman
“[Israel] commits no act that does not deserve condemnation, employs no agent which deserves respect, gives no order which deserves obedience, and makes no law that does not deserve violating. The state of Israel is committing genocide, and we must resist.”
Yuval Pelleg
“As I witness the crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, an unfortunate fact is revealed regarding enlisting in an army that claims to protect me as a Jew: it is an action incompatible with basic principles of life and equality for all human beings, but rather joining a system whose essence is oppression, occupation and destruction.”
Ayana Gerstmann
“But now, having matured, my innocence is not unconditional. That is why I know that if I decide to stay silent now that I’m aware of the suffering inflicted upon millions by the army, I will be complicit in the crime. Today I know that I cannot be silent in the face of suffering. I cannot be silent in the face of killing and destruction. And today I know that enlisting in the army is worse than silence: it is cooperation with a system that is hurting millions. That is why I refuse, and do so loudly”
Ella Keidar Greenberg
“Faced with a reality of mass extermination, of systematic neglect, of trampling on rights, of war – The imperative is refusal. Don’t stay complacent, gather, organize, resist.
In 40 years, when our grandchildren ask us what we did during the Gaza genocide, during the collapse of the old order, if we gave up or if we put up a fight, how will you rather answer? I know what I’ll answer, that I chose to resist, this is why I am refusing.”
Soul Behar Tsalik
“There may be attempts to shift our attention to Lebanon or Iran, but the reality in Gaza does not change – we are controlling Gaza. We continue the violence there and continue to forsake the hostages.
Ending the Israeli presence in Gaza is not only the right thing to do for the Palestinians. It is also what must be done for the security and future of Israelis.”
Itamar Greenberg
“Now that I’m 18, I know that the fact that the door into Israeli society goes through the oppression and killing of another people is a grave injustice in our society. A just society cannot be built on gun barrels. Out of commitment to this society and the desire to change it, I refuse to serve in the army. I’m enlisting to peace.”
Oryan Mueller
“The cycle of blood and suffering is at the core of life between the river and the sea. Millions of people Jews and Arabs alike, feel its consequences daily.”
Yuval Moav
“To my Palestinian brothers and sisters, in my simple act, I want to stand in solidarity with you. I know that every child in Gaza is forced to be a bigger hero than I will ever be. I know that there are kids – younger than me – in Israeli prisons for no fault of their own, whose pain I could never know.”
Ben Arad
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Read the full declaration
