In an act of civil disobedience reminiscent of that which sparked the civil rights and anti-war mass movements in the United States, more than two dozen Israeli youth have refused to obey Israeli military orders to serve on the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
Their resistance is a dramatic escalation of the growing protest within Israel which opposes the continuing Israeli army occupation of Palestinian land.
The fact that such a drastic act of insubordination has taken place, and that it has become a household topic in Israel, indicates how deep and widespread the general public's dissatisfaction with the occupation and settlement policies has become.
More than anything else, the young people's selective conscientious objection has served to sharpen the debate over Israel's future, challenging the moral authority the Israeli government has used to justify its military occupation and colonization of the Palestinian territories for more than 13 years.
Their resistance comes at a time of great difficulty for Israel. As 1980 ended, Israel's annual inflation rate had reached a chronic level of more than 150 per cent. Prime Minister Begin's coalition government was barely surviving repeated no-confidence votes in the Knesset Parliament, indicative of the significant recent erosion of public support for Begin's policies of security through strong-armed confrontation and increased Israeli settlements in the Arab lands, policies which have perpetually inflamed the Palestinians and ravaged the war-economy of Israel.
Even Begin's former defense minister and 1977 campaign manager, Ezer Weizman, was compelled to say in late November that the Begin policies were a "disaster," making Israelis "fed up with peace."
What became perhaps the biggest threat to the hard-liners' approach to Israel's security began with the simple, bold act of 27 of Israel's native-born youth in July, 1979.
In a public letter, the "Group of 27" jointly announced that they would refuse to serve as required in the Israeli army if they were stationed in any of the occupied Palestinian territories.
"We are convinced that by our refusal," they wrote, "we contribute to the cause of peace between the Jewish people in Israel and the Palestinian Arab people.
"We think that the occupation means rule of our people over another and deprivation of their rights. The presence of the Israeli Army forces in the occupied territories means perpetual oppression and creates a chasm of hostility between Israelis and Palestinians--between Israeli and Palestinian youth--and threatens the chance of peace between the two peoples.
"Our military service in the territories which were occupied in June, 1967, means active participation in the carrying out of an international policy of oppression, lending a hand to a policy which leads to another war...We shall not be the helpers of an occupation which turns us into oppressors and the Palestinians into the oppressed."
Nineteen-year-old Gadi Algazy, spokesperson for the 26 others, explained later that for him the choice was between being a jailer of the Palestinian people and being jailed himself.
"I have to choose," said Algazy, "to act upon the call of conscience or to deny it."
Since he was inducted into the army 11 months ago, Algazy has been sentenced at least four times for refusing to carry out orders wh ile inside the occupied territories; consequently he has spent more than 100 days in jail.
Gadi appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court last summer for an exemption from serving anywhere outside of what has been called the "green line," the border of Israel drawn up in 1949 and broken when Israel took possession of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and Sinai territories after the 1967 war.
Exemptions from duty across the green line have been obtained by other recruits in the past on a case by case basis because they acted singly and kept quiet. Now, according to an Israeli document released at Gadi Algazy's trial, the policy has been changed to deny all exemptions, because what was a "sporadic phenomenon...has grown or changed its color to become the product of a well-organized group."
Gadi's appeal as a conscientious objector was based on the fact that his exemption request was rejected without any official grounds for discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled against him in late September. It said the Israeli army had the right to station its troops wherever it chose.
Gadi's parents have steadfastly supported him.
"The occupation," Gadi's father Joseph wrote to me recently, "has taught youngsters to bomb-up homes, to impose curfews, to cause hunger, to shoot into a mass of demonstrators and kill, to hit with the club, to drag other youngsters by their hair--in short--to oppress brutally and to humiliate....A coldblooded type of 'patriotic' murderer has arisen."
"When I see what soldiers are ordered to do in the occupied territories," said Gadi's mother Miriam, a European-born survivor of the Nazi holocaust, "I prefer to know that my son is arrested [rather] than being outside [prison] risking the corruption of his soul."
The war-ridden history of Israel's existence has become a heavy burden for many Israelis. Thousands have died over the years in the "big" wars: 1948-49, 1956, 1967, 1973, as well as in the many sporadic clashes and military invasions into southern Lebanon.
Military duty is a requirement for all young Israeli Jews except for a few Orthodox women and yeshiva students. Kindergarten children practice air raid drills, high schools engage in military education exercises, and all young men and women must serve an initial term of three years as well as one month each year of their life until they reach 54.
Increasing numbers of Israelis want peace and are beginning to abandon the so-far unsuccessful view that peace is obtained through intransigent military dominance. Even so, in highly militarized Israel, the Group of 27's vow was considered treasonous by many; their "no" to participation in the occupation army cut to the heart of the debate over Israel's future.
Thus far, groups like the Israeli "Peace Now" movement have roundly condemned the young soldier-resisters. But the Group of 27 has stood firm, and other recruits, as well as 21 reserve soldiers, have joined their ranks in resistance. Their stance has touched off a stormy controversy that has been ignited periodically during the past year each time one of the 27 was inducted or, once inducted, forced to cross over into the occupied territories where they refused to obey orders.
The Group of 27 grew out of a student organization that began three years ago to oppose matriculation exams in the high schools. The idea for objecting to occupation army duty was first put forth by Gadi Algazy. He had decided he would resist but thought there would be more power in a joint effort.
A resistance petition was circulated throughout Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion, Petah Tikva, Bat Yam, Beer Sheva, Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael, and elsewhere. It came back with 27 signatures of male and female high school students prepared to resist.
Four months later, the first of the 27, Dani Amir, was recruited. When he reported for duty, Amir told his superiors that he did not intend to cross the green line. Three days later he was ordered to do so for the purpose of training. When he refused, he was sentenced and imprisoned for 35 days.
Protests mounted, led by his friends in the Group of 27. Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein sent a telegram of solidarity and support. Advertisements and letters to the editor began to fill the newspapers.
Dani Amir has a health condition that likely could have gained him a total exemption from military duty. Nonetheless, he insisted that he wanted to serve, but only within Israel's pre-1967 borders, dramatizing the fact that the Group of 27 are not pacifists, but are selective conscientious objectors who are willing to militarily defend their country's pre-1967 borders.
Despite his handicap, Amir had been a goalie for his local soccer team. He is known for his sharp wit. Amir wrote from prison, commenting on how time passes, that "there isn't a man who could put a stop to time, but there are maniacs who can extend it."
He also wrote that his trial had been "amazing." The military officer-judge simply had delivered "monologues" about "research he is undertaking on the [Israeli] borders during the time of King David from the Euphrates to the Nile"; he then found Amir guilty.
Next in the Group of 27 to be inducted into the army were Gadi Algazy, Oron Adar, and Guy Pilavski, all on February 4, 1980. The three have been in and out of jail during the past year, as periodically their commanding officers have ordered them to report to the occupied territories. Pilavski has spent about 100 days in jail for three separate sentences. Two of the 27 have reached a compromise with the army after serving several 35-day sentences each; they underwent basic training in the territories but have been allowed to stay out ever since.
The Group of 27 has been quick to say that each of its members has his or her own particular reasons to resist.
Oron Adar explained that he had been moved to resist after realizing that in the last dozen years, the government has "tried to transform the occupation into a permanent fact. Young men, who, like us, opposed oppression, agreed to serve in the territories because occupation was presented to them as a temporary situation, justified by the security needs of the state. But in reality, everything has been done to facilitate annexation [of the Arab land to expand Israel's border], and repression was directed towards that end."
"I know that many people can't accept our move," added Guy Pilavski, "because for them the law and following orders are holy acts. To them I say: The commanders as well as the commands nowadays are political...Today, more than ever, one must be on guard over his own moral integrity. For me that means not to serve in the territories.
"On the personal level," he explained, "I am unable to take part in suppressing another people. I know that I shall not be able to put down a demonstration that I myself would have liked to take part in. I may even find myself protecting the demonstrators. I don't want to reach such a state of affairs."
For Gadi Algazy, the principles espoused at the Nuremberg trials have led him to object: "A rule which was accepted by the Nuremburg court, and later ratified by the Israeli courts, states that an order on top of which a black flag is displayed must not be carried out by a soldier. For me the rule applies to service in the territories."
Phil Shenk was on the editorial staff at Sojourners when this article appeared.
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