“Since the war began, I understood that I have an obligation to make my voice heard, and to call for an end to the cycle of violence.” These were the words of Ben Arad, an 18-year-old Israeli conscientious objector, shortly before he reported to the Israeli army’s recruitment center near Tel Aviv on April 1 and declared his refusal to enlist in mandatory military service, in protest of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the long-standing occupation.
Arad is the third Israeli teenager to publicly refuse the draft for political reasons since October 7, and was tried and sentenced to an initial 20 days in military prison. He follows Tal Mitnick, who has served 105 days in prison across three sentences, and Sofia Orr, who has served 40 days in prison across two sentences — neither of whom have yet been exempted from military service, meaning they may still be sentenced to further stints in prison.
Born in Ramat Hasharon not far from Tel Aviv, Arad has spent the past few months volunteering at Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh in the Negev/Naqab desert, where he worked with youth from the kibbutz and in schools in the nearby Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj. Like many other Israeli teens completing what is known as a “year of service” before the army this year, Arad was informed that the program had been cut short due to the war, and that he would therefore have to enlist in the army in April rather than December.