Refusal to serve in the Israeli military

Refusal to serve in the IDF is when citizens of Israel refuse to serve in the Israel Defense Forces or disobey orders on the grounds of pacifism, antimilitarism, religious philosophy or political disagreement with Israeli policy such as the occupation of the Palestinian territories.Conscientious objectors in Israel are known as sarvanim (in Hebrew סרבנים) which is sometimes translated as "refuseniks", or mishtamtim (evaders, dodgers).

A Palestinian branch of War Resisters' International was formed in 1946 by David Engel, who had earlier been expelled from Kfar Ruppin for refusing to enlist in the British army. He reported that his group initially had about 40 members. In 1948, the year of Israel's declaration of independence, another member of the group, Joseph Abileah, was the first conscientious objector to be put on trial before a military court for refusing to serve in the IDF. He was excused from service in the army on the grounds of ill health, which according to him was a face-saving measure. A 1954 report in Haaretz judged the size of the group to be about 100. The group's greatest failure was to not have conscientious objection recognised in law. In general, persons who made their objections known before being called up were treated more leniently than those to objected after receiving their call-up notice. Members of the group held a variety of political opinions beside their common pacifism; while some were anti-Zionist most were not.

Although Israel has mandatory conscription, some Israelis do not serve in the military. Israeli Arabs are not drafted, though they may enlist, and small numbers serve voluntarily. Haredi Jews were exempt, so long as they did study in yeshivas (up to a maximum of 62,500 individuals), based on an arrangement worked out with David Ben-Gurion in 1948 and the Tal Law, though small numbers volunteer to serve in the IDF, specially in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. The exemption lapsed in August 1, 2012, after being struck down by the Israeli Supreme Court in April 2012. Orthodox women can avoid service on the basis of their religion upon filing certain paperwork. After becoming officially exempt, religious women may choose to do national service work instead, although this is not compulsory. Many people who are "unfit" or "unqualified", either mentally or physically, are also exempt. Military service can often be postponed for further education—either college or university, or technical studies. Finally, a number of people refuse to serve because of pacifist views, because they deny the IDF is an army of defense, or refuse certain orders based on their disagreement with government policy.

...
Wikipedia