Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
More Israeli Conscientious Objectors
AP
JERUSALEM - Lotan Raz was born on an Israeli communal farm but grew up on the lore of the 1960s U.S. protest movement, so when the 18-year-old received his Israeli draft card in the mail, he did his duty - went to the induction center and said his conscience did not allow him to serve.
Raz spent 52 days in a military prison after the army refused to recognize him as a conscientious objector.
Just a few years ago, young men such as Raz were an exception in a nation that has fought six wars in its 51-year history. But today, Israel is more prosperous and sure of itself, less of a garrison state.
While the vast majority of young Israeli men still do three years of compulsory service, many even volunteering for combat duty, a growing number seek to avoid the draft.
Some say they are pacifists, while others acknowledge they want to get on with their careers and not spend three years doing something they don't believe in.
In general, the army grants conscientious-objector status to women, but not to men, and those who are turned down by a special army review panel are sent to jail.
"The willingness to serve in the army is in decline," said Gad Barzilai, a political scientist and author who researches the relationship between the Israeli army and society. "I think the army is very concerned and, for good reason."
However, as external threats to Israel recede, the army may be less insistent than in the past to recruit every able-bodied 18-year-old, said social commentator Daniel Elazar.
Since the founding of the state, only Jewish seminary students and Israel's Arab citizens have been exempt from service. Raz, recognized as an Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience," said he felt the need to take a stand on principles.
He was ultimately dismissed by the army as "unsuitable for service," without mention of his objections to serving in the West Bank, Gaza Strip or southern Lebanon.
Still, the idea of challenging compulsory service does not come easy in a country where the military helped forge the national character. The sight of rifle-toting soldiers on the city streets is part of the national landscape.
Moshe Mugrabi, 34, said that when he was drafted as an 18-year-old, he did not realize that refusing to serve was an option. Mugrabi, an Internet designer from Tel Aviv, completed three years in a combat unit.
But when he returned to Israel after four years at art school in Berlin, he found himself incapable of returning to his unit for reserve duty and was released by an army psychologist. "I could not go on in an army framework of orders," Mugrabi said.
Copyright (c) 2000 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
![]()

nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new car? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helen's and Astoria, Ore.
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Senate vote clears hurdle
227 - First key vote today on Senate health bill
169 - Mariners add six to 40-man roster
147 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
97 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
95 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
79 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
76 - Game thread
63 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
62 - Saturday links
54
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helen's and Astoria, Ore.
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'
- UW provost tapped for Nike's board




