On August 15th, 18-year-old Israeli conscientious objector Shahar Schwartz was sentenced to 10 days in military prison for refusing to serve in the army. Yesterday he was released after his first imprisonment to much jubilation among his network of supporters.
The Israeli military jailed Shahar, a recent high school graduate, after he appeared before the IDF's conscientious objectors committee and declared his intention to refuse service. Shahar cited the Israeli military's ongoing direct human rights violations against Palestinians and its enabling of settler violence.
In a statement, Shahar said:
I refuse to enlist in the army because it enforces a policy of inequality and crushes any hope of change. The Palestinians have no way to influence their lives because they do not have the right to vote in a 'democracy' that controls every aspect of their lives. The young Israelis who serve in the army are the ones who violate the human rights of the Palestinians on the ground, oppress the [Palestinian] population and enable the settlers' violence against them. I refuse to take part in this.
Imagine yourself at 18 years old and ask whether you would have had the courage to take a moral stand against the current of your society like Shahar has done. He faces not only further imprisonment, but a whole array of secondary social consequences, from exclusion from certain jobs to general public harassment.
Let’s show Shahar that we have his back and write him letters expressing whatever is in our hearts. For my part, I want to express how inspired I am by his commitment to nonviolent resistance to oppression as well as his willingness to make a major personal sacrifice in a way that matters.
Read more by checking out Oren Ziv’s recent report in +972 Magazine.