Home > War’s first refusenik jailed for 28 days
Wars and conflicts International
By Lily Galili
Yesterday’s bombing in Qana sparked an immediate surge in opposition to
the fighting in Lebanon. Spontaneous demonstrations and petitions were
organized within hours, and drew more people than the organized
demonstrations of the previous two weeks.
Meanwhile, the first person to refuse to do army service during the
current fighting was yesterday sentenced to 28 days in a military
prison.
According to the refusal organization Yesh Gvul, which issued a public
statement yesterday urging others to follow in Amir Fester’s footsteps,
more than 10 other people have contacted the organization about the
possibility of refusing to serve.
While some of them have answered reserve duty call-ups and are
participating in military training, they have said that they will not
take part in the fighting, according to organization spokesman Yishai
Menuchin.
One petition, which collected more than 200 signatures within a few
hours yesterday, was organized by Haifa resident Orit Ben Artzi. It
calls for a cease-fire and the opening of negotiations.
In addition, more than 600 people, including Israeli professors and
senior Meretz party officials, have signed an international petition
calling for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire in Lebanon, Gaza and
the West Bank. Among the signatories to this petition are former Meretz
MKs Naomi Chazan and Mussi Raz - though the latter has meanwhile obeyed
an emergency call-up order for army reserve duty.