army service

Israeli soldiers stand near the entrance to the divided village of Ghajar on the Lebanese-Israeli border, January 19, 2015. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

No permit, no entry

I thought of mandatory conscription as somewhat of an inconvenience — I never thought the army would be ‘fun.’ I never expected to serve at a checkpoint. I never expected to hate myself for it. By Lauren S. Marcus It was a balmy Saturday night in Tel Aviv. I stood on the smoking patio of a club which…

By +972 Magazine June 5, 2015

Druze conscientious objector Urawa Jaleb Saif, June 15, 2014, Haifa. (Photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

[WATCH] Druze refusal in the Israeli army (part 1): A history lesson

According to the mainstream Israeli narrative the Druze population in Israel is loyal to and maintains an alliance with the state, the most famous element of which includes mandatory military service. But is that really the whole story? The first episode in a four-part series looking at Druze in Israel, their relationship with the security…

By Social TV November 16, 2014

Three Israeli refuseniks. Their T-shirts read: "We See. We Hear. We Refuse,” Tel Aviv, October 16th, 2009. (Photo by Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

WATCH: When refusing army service is a privileged position

A group of 50 Israeli high school seniors recently sent letters to the prime minister declaring that they will refuse to serve in the army on ideological grounds. But refusing to serve the occupation can be a privileged position, one that is not afforded to various groups of Israelis of certain socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. …

By Social TV April 7, 2014

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