By Noam Sheizaf*
Following her sixth trial, Tair Kaminer has
become the longest-serving female conscientious objector in Israel’s history.
This is her story.
Young Israeli women Tair Kaminer and Tania
Golan pose for a final photo outside the Tel Hashomer induction base where they
announced their refusal to serve in the Israeli army, January 31, 2016. Kaminer
was sentenced to prison.
DF military prison number 6 lies in one of the
most picturesque spots in Israel, at the bottom of the Carmel Mountain, between
green fields and banana plantations. The prisoners can see the mountains from
the yard, but there is no view of the Mediterranean, less than a mile away.
The prison includes a separate unit for
officers and, since 2011, a female unit as well. Prison life is boring and
discipline is harsh. Most prisoners’
favorite days are those when they are
taken to work at nearby factories. Following a mutiny in 1997, living
conditions were improved a bit; among other changes, the cigarettes given to
the prisoners were replaced by a better brand.
But 19-year-old Tair Kaminer doesn’t smoke.
Last week, Kaminer made history: she was sentenced to 45 days for refusing to
enlist in the IDF. This was her sixth trial, bringing her entire sentence to
170 days, more than any other female conscientious objector has received in
Israeli history. Before sentencing her, Lieutenant Colonel Eran Shani
complimented Kaminer for her bravery, but also told her that the consequences
of her actions will be severe.
Kaminer could have avoided her long prison
term. Many Israelis fake medical or psychological problems in order to avoid
the draft. Religious women don’t serve either, so all it takes is a declaration
that one observes in order to be released immediately. If you can convince the
military that you are a pacifist — a challenging task, but not entirely
impossible — you might be released as well. But Kaminer is neither religious
nor a pacifist, and she is not ready to lie. She doesn’t oppose the military as
a rule. Rather, she chose to refuse because of the IDF’s role in the occupation
and in the systematic depravation of Palestinian civil and human rights.
(Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh speaks at a
rally in support of conscientious objectors Tair Kaminer and Omri Brenes, both
of whom are currently serving time in military jail for refusing to join the
IDF. (photo: Mesarvot)
In her public statement, Kaminer, who
volunteered to do her year of national service with children in Sderot, writes:
“The children I worked with grew up in the heart of the conflict, and went
through traumatic experiences from a young age. In many of them, this has
generated a terrible hatred — which is quite understandable, especially in
young children. Like them, many of the children living in the Gaza Strip and
the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, in an even more harsh
reality, learn to hate the other side. They, too, cannot be blamed. When I look
at all these children, at the next generation of both sides and the reality in
which they live, I can but see the continuation of trauma and pain. And I say:
Enough!”
Support for such a refusal in Israel is
extremely limited, and many view it as an anti-democratic act. After all, it’s
a refusal to serve the democratically elected government of Israel. But a
system that grants full rights to some civilians while withholding them from
others — as Israel’s military regime does in the West Bank — has nothing to do
with democracy. Some might argue that Kaminer doesn’t fully appreciate the
risks Israel faces if it were to end its occupation. But no one can accuse her
of not understanding democracy.
There is also a political context here. Israel
has made it very clear that it will not consider evacuating the West Bank — nor
giving Palestinians full rights — in the foreseeable future. While Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid lip service to the idea of Palestinian
independence seven years ago (then retracted, then retracted his retraction),
his actions speak louder than any speech he has given.
Unable or unwilling to produce a roadmap to the
end of the occupation, Israel’s government is now taking harsher measures
against those opposing it. The government is promoting a bill that would
restrict human rights NGOs that receive foreign funding; a Palestinian leader
who was appointed by the Palestinian Authority to promote dialogue with
Israelis has had his entry permit revoked; cultural institutions have had to
declare that they will perform in the settlements or else see their funding
cut, unarmed Palestinian protesters are met with tear gas and occasionally live
bullets — the list goes on.
Going against these trends is not easy. The 28
days I spent, more than a decade ago, in military Prison 6 for refusing a
reserve service in the occupied territories — and the confrontations that
followed with people I loved and respected — were more difficult than anything
I experienced in the preceding four years of mandatory service in the West
Bank, Gaza and southern Lebanon. I can only imagine what it’s like to go
through this at the age of 19, and for such a long time.
Yet there is a greater concern here. By making
an example out of Kaminer, Israel, its leadership and its military demonstrate
their vision for the future: an indefinite occupation, with harsher and harsher
measures against those resisting it. The political space and the personal
freedoms of Israelis will crumble, and another Palestinian revolt will become
all but inevitable. The price for both societies will be terrible — perhaps
worse than all we have seen in the past.
As it stands, one 19-year-old woman is ready to
take risks and fight for peace in a way that no political leader will.
*Noam Sheizaf: I am an independent journalist and editor. I have worked
for Tel Aviv’s Ha-ir local paper, for Ynet.co.il and for the Maariv daily,
where my last post was deputy editor of the weekend magazine. My work has
recently been published in Haaretz, Yedioth Ahronoth, The Nation and other
newspapers and magazines. More…
I was born in Ramat-Gan and today
live and work in Tel Aviv. Before working as a journalist, I served four and a
half years in the IDF.
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