Israeli army refusers defy harsher backlash to protest genocide
Young Israelis burning their draft notices in protest of the genocide in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, 15 July 2025
Oren Ziv reports in +972 on 8 September 2025:
In mid-July, a few dozen young Jewish-Israeli activists marched through the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The demonstration ended at Habima Square in the city center, where 10 participants who had received army draft notices set them on fire and publicly declared their refusal to enlist.
The act sparked an uproar on Israeli social media, unleashing a wave of private messages — some supportive, others hostile — alongside calls of incitement from right-wing pages.
“People would reach out to me every single day after we burned the notices,” said 19-year-old Yona Roseman, one of the participants, in an interview with +972. “I don’t know if this alone can bring about change, but even one fewer soldier taking part in the genocide is a positive step.”
Roseman is one of seven young Israelis imprisoned in August for refusing military service in protest of Israel’s genocide and occupation. According to the conscientious objector network Mesarvot, it is the largest number jailed simultaneously since the group began operating in 2016. Their sentences range from 20 to 45 days, after which they will likely be summoned again, serving several more prison terms before being officially discharged.
In total, 17 young Israelis have been jailed for publicly refusing the draft since the war started. The first was Tal Mitnick, who was imprisoned for 185 days. Another, Itamar Greenberg, was held for nearly 200 days, marking the longest sentence for a conscientious objector in over a decade. Their cases signal a hardening of the army’s stance; according to Mesarvot, the military appears to have abandoned its previous policy of releasing refusers after 120 days, making extended prison terms the new norm.
While conscientious objection among drafted teens remains rare in Israeli society, Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has sparked a broader wave of refusal among reservists who have already completed their mandatory service. More than 300 have sought support from the refusal movement Yesh Gvul (Hebrew for “There is a limit”), most of them called up for service in Gaza.
“What characterizes this wave [of refusal], unlike during the First Lebanon War and the [First and Second] Intifadas, is that back then there were selective refusers — those who refused to go to Lebanon or the West Bank,” explained Ishai Menuchin, chair of Yesh Gvul. “But now, these are refusers who, for the most part, are unwilling to serve in the army at all.”