20260331 Amnesty kämpft für Kriegsdienstverweiger

Solitary confinement for conscientious objectors

We have already spoken out on multiple occasions in support of conscientious objectors who are being held in detention because of their beliefs. The most recent cases came from Russia and Ukraine. Yurii Sheliazhenko and Bogdan Syrotjuks are just two of many other unknown individuals who have been robbed of their future as a result of the war in Ukraine, simply because they advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict (https://www.a-fsa.de/ d/3BB). A few years earlier, in 2016, the case of Taïr Kaminer came to light — an Israeli woman who refused to serve in the Israeli military. (https://www.a-fsa.de/d/2zv)

Before her arrest, she said: "The date of my conscription is set for January 10, 2016. On that day, I will report to the conscription center and declare that I refuse military service and therefore wish to perform civilian alternative service. In conversations, people close to me have accused me of harming democracy by not obeying the laws of the state. But Palestinians in the occupied territories live under the rule of the Israeli government, even though they did not elect it. As long as Israel remains an occupying power, it will continue to move further away from being a democratic state. Therefore, refusal is part of the struggle for democracy and not an act against democracy."

How right she was!

The Israeli government has launched wars of aggression against Lebanon and Iran in violation of international law, has destroyed the infrastructure in Gaza, and is deliberately starving the people there. It has recently passed an apartheid law that imposes the death penalty only on people of Arab descent, while the crimes of illegal settlers in the West Bank are rarely punished.

The imprisonment of conscientious objectors also continues. Amnesty International draws our attention to the case of Itamar Greenberg. He is an 18-year-old Israeli conscientious objector who has served five consecutive prison terms in the Neve Tzedek military prison in central Israel because he refused to join the Israeli army after being drafted. He reports:

"Hello, I'm Itamar Greenberg, an 18-year-old activist for reconciliation, equality, and justice. Two weeks ago, I was released from an Israeli military prison, where I had been held for 197 days because I refused to enlist in the Israeli army. ... But the more I learned about the Israeli army’s role in controlling and oppressing millions of Palestinians, the more I realized that conscription was not just a gateway to Israeli society. Rather, it meant active participation in a system of violence, domination, and oppression. I realized that if I went along with it, I would become part of the problem. ..."

He concludes his statement with the words: "We cannot build a just society with the barrels of guns. Mass killings and apartheid are not a path to “security” and never can be — they are crimes against humanity."