Those of you who are long time readers here, know my opinions of the Israeli army. To quote from my FAQ:
1. The IDF is the main reason that Israel continues to illegally occupy the West Bank and Gaza, and refuses to reach a just and permanent solution with the Palestinians.
2. The IDF is the key institution that undermines democracy in Israel, and perpetuates inequality and corruption in Israeli society.
There are so many stories I can tell about the corruption and cruelty of the army that I saw and experienced in my ten years of service. Tonight, I will tell just one, the story of a 20 year old boy, Yoni ben-Artzi.
Yoni is a member of the Shministim, the group my son Asaf is also involved in. The first part of Yoni’s story is told here.
In the course of organizing Amit Mashiah’s tour here in New York these past two weeks, I had the pleasure of meeting Yoni’s brother and sister who are here in New York. I want to bring you all up to date on what is happening with this courageous boy, and help you understand just a bit why I feel the way I do about the army.
Apparently, after sentancing Yoni seven times on disciplinary charges, the army came to the conclusion that repeated jail sentances aren’t going to break Yoni’s spirit. So a few days ago, the head of the army’s manpower command, called in Yoni for a private meeting. Yes, despite his obviously heavy work-load, the case of a 20 year old pacifist hit the top of his agenda. Basically, the general made the following offer to Yoni: “get inducted in the army, do basic training and we will drop all charges and allow you to serve in an army hospital.” Yoni, who responded that he is willing to serve in a hospital. But as a pacifist since the age of twelve, he cannot and will not don an army uniform.
The general told Yoni to think about it. But it didn’t end there. Breaking this 20 year old pacifist seems to be vital to the security and well-being of the state, since a few days later Yoni was called in to speak with no less than the deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli army. Imagine if during the Vietnam war, the deputy chief of staff of the American army would have called in a pacifist CO and try to convince him to change his mind. The mind boggles. (Just as an aside, a pacifist like Yoni during the Vietnam war, would have been excused from the draft completely. The U.S. government only challenged selective refusal).
When Yoni refused this offer as well, the army decided to bring him up for trial in front of a military tribunal. Yoni now faces the possibility of being convicted on criminal charges by the army, and serving many years in jail. His crime? Being a pacifist.
But the story doesn’t end here. First, Yoni was dragged in front of a court in handcuffs (as a dangerous pacifist he might try to hurt one of the MPs). The army insisted on bringing him to jail immediately after the hearing, which ended at 9 at night. Even the judge was appalled and reprimanded the army by noting there isn’t even anyone available at the jail to check Yoni in.
When Yoni came to the army base the officer that checked him in, once again tried to convince Yoni to go through induction - get a few innoculations, get his army papers, that’s all. Once again, Yoni said he can’t do anything that will make him a soldier. The officer told Yoni that doing these things will not make him a soldier. Yoni said he would agree if the officer was willing to put in writing that doing these things would not make him a soldier. The officer then freaked, and called in the head of the base to talk to Yoni. The base commander than proceeded to tell Yoni that they will give him the innoculations in different places than they do other soldiers. Yoni didn’t buy it and the matter was dropped.
Yoni is now sitting in jail awaiting trial. Due to the judges intervention, the terms of his confinement are not overly restrictive. Still, Yoni has spent barely any time with his family over the past 7 months. And let us repeat his crime: he is a pacifist.
The cruelty of his punishment is obvious. But why do I say this behavior indicates the fundamental corruption of the army. Corruption has various meanings. Corruption can mean decay or rot. A robust and healthy organization has clearly defined norms and principles of behavior that it applies in a fair and unbiased fashion. Top management does not involve itself in minor manners. I ask you what kind of army has a base commander discussing which buttock it will inject one of its conscripts? What kind of army has its deputy chief of staff involved in such discussions? Only a poorly run organization suffering from inner decay and feeling totally threatened by someone or something that is unmasking its weaknesses, engages everyone in the organization, from top to bottom in trying to destroy the “threat.” The fact that a 20 year old boy refusing to put on a uniform is seen as an existential threat, is a clear sign that the Israeli army is rotten to the core.
Secondly there is another meaning to corruption - corruption in the sense of immoral, perverse and depraved. Every army that aspires to uphold some moral principles, recognizes the right of soldiers to act on their conscience. While selective refusal might be controversial, no moral person would try to force a true pacifist to put on a uniform. Trying to break Yoni is a depraved and perverse act.
Finally corruption means venal and dishonest. Everyone knows that most Israeli youth don’t serve in the army. If Yoni had come to the army and just asked not to serve, they would have let him out without a fuss. The only “case” the army can make against Yoni is that he is violating universal norms of Israeli society by refusing to serve. Given the behavior of the army in other cases of avoiding service which are not based on conscience, the army’s case is totally dishonest.
One can only conclude that the fear that Yoni is raising among the army’s top brass and the political establishment (and there is no doubt that there is political involvement in this case as well) is caused by only one thing: his courage and incorruptable conscience shines a clear light on the cowardess and moral decay at the center of Israeli society - its army.
For those who want to help
Suggestions may be found in the article noted at the top as well as here.
You can also email Ruti Ben-Artzi or me if you have other ideas and suggestions. We are particularly interested in getting press coverage in “mainstream” news outlets. Yoni is a nephew (by marriage) of right-wing Foreign Minister (ex-PM) Bibi Netanyahu, so this story certainly has a great deal of human interest to general readers.
Tags: CO, Feature, Non-violence
