Another example were Israel is way out of line with established Western civil right standards.
One of a long list.
What precisely is beyond the pale here? That she’s being held to a particular standard that’s been in place for decades or she’s not given a pass because of her political views that you find congruent with your own?
Where Israel is at odds with Western standards is in continuing to have a system of compulsory military service. When the U.S. still had a draft, it granted very few exemptions for conscientious objectors, and jailed many of those who still refused to serve. One celebrated case involved Joan Baez’s husband, who spent 15 months in prison for resisting the draft.
But congratulations to Tair Kaminer for serving her conscience. I suspect she’ll find it at least as difficult to live with her notoriety after she is released.
The fact that there is no legal way to conscientiously object is beyond the pale. Where I grew up we had mandatory military service and I was already prepared to do the same as this girl (because I generally objected to the idea of killing my fellow man). It so happened that my health was sub par, so I wasn’t called on, otherwise I would have been able to make my case to a commission and then serve a slightly longer civil service.
It’s simply stupid on the part of Israel’s government to not offer a similar alternative to conscientious objectors. This girl could do meaningful service work in a nursing home rather than rot in jail.
BTW her political views don’t factor into this whatsoever.
France and Germany phased out compulsory military much later than the US, and there was a comprehensive system in place to perform alternative civil service for conscientious objectors. That’s the standards I had in mind.
Given Israel’s security situation I don’t think they can afford to forego compulsory military service.
“Exemptions are given for several categories, including people with mental conditions, people who are strictly religious”
Redundant.
I guess for me it’s the privileging of strict religiosity that makes this weird. If you’ve come to the conclusion that killing people is wrong, or even merely that killing the particular set of people your government has been killing for 50ish years is wrong, that sends you to jail. If your deity tells you that you personally should not take up arms while still loudly exhorting others to kill the people you want killed, that gets you an exemption.
Meanwhile, I think that universal national service of some kind is a great idea, and I wish the US had something of the kind.
I have a lot of respect for this young woman. She is right that the army is clearly a political tool used for control. I wish her an early release and a future involved in worthwhile causes and satisfying work. As for U.S. policy regarding Israel, Israel’s outsize influence on U.S. foreign policy, the ridiculous amount of resources we give that country, and the utter disrespect of its current leadership toward our President is highly offensive to me. Israel has continuously acted against U.S. interests and often its own as well. Now that the settlements have gotten out of control, however, I wonder if any solution can ever be reached. I hate that the U.S. essentially bankrolls this oppressive regime and its often illegal actions.
She answered each of issues you have raised with clarity. Try reading again, especially the part of army being a tool of control.
It has nothing to do with congruency of one’s views.
I wonder if this woman is part of a future trend. As the occupation goes into its 50th year many Israelis, particularly the younger generation of draft age who have cordial relations with their Arab neighbors and co-workers (Israel is roughly 20% Arab) may start to see the futility of serving.
At least they didn’t run her over with an armored bulldozer.
Well, she is prepared to take her punishment. That says a lot about the strength of her convictions. It is really sad to see how Israel has gradually become an “occupying power” as far as the Palestinians are concerned. And our role in funding this is well known. the way this President has been treated by Netanyahu speaks volumes about the arrogance of a large segment of the Jewish people in Israel.
She is refusing to support the continued occupation of territories captured in a war in which Israel fired the first shot.
What is despicable is that the US continues to support a state that has established an apartheid system with two classes of person, Jews and non-Jews.
Therefore, there can be no such thing as freedom in a country that forbids opposing it.