On Tal Mitnick’s first morning inside an Israeli military prison last month, he was ordered into a small classroom. Pinned to its walls were various famous quotes. One caught his attention: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” The name beneath it: Nelson Mandela.
“I nearly laughed to myself,” says the 18-year-old, speaking over Zoom from the bedroom of his family’s Tel Aviv home. “A military upholding apartheid putting that on their wall,” he says, “while South Africa was preparing its case against Israel for the international criminal court? I pointed out how ridiculous this quote being there was. No other prisoners engaged or agreed. I realised how alone I was.”
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“A military upholding apartheid putting that on their wall,” he says, “while South Africa was preparing its case against Israel for the international criminal court?
As a result, a military court sentenced him to 30 days in custody, making him the first conscientious objector to be jailed in Israel since 7 October.
While he studied maths and computer science at school, a teacher suggested his natural aptitudes would suit a role in an elite intelligence unit.
Online, at least, some pro-Palestine voices have questioned the praise being poured on Mitnick, suggesting refusing to participate in the slaughtering of civilians is the very least to be expected.
Occasionally, a news programme would air on his in-cell TV, although domestic broadcasters have all but ignored Mitnick and the wider anti-war movement.
I hope more and more young people my age see that it’s not normal to live in constant fear of terrorist attacks, nor to enlist 18-year-olds into the army.
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I wish I was as brave and well-spoken as this young man.
When I was 17-18 I scored really well on a test and the US Air Force tried to recruit me. It was tempting because I was fascinated with aerospace and it would have kickstarted my career and possibly meant no student loans. I’d easily be $100k better off today if I went down that path.
But I couldn’t imagine myself dropping bombs on potentially innocent people at the behest of some smug politician, or even loading ordinance for someone else to do it. The thought made me sick to my stomach. So I figured out my own path. But that was easy for me, because there was no major conflict at the time, no one threatening me with jail, and no social repercussions from that decision. I have to wonder if I would have made the same decision if it was under Tal Mitnick’s conditions.
It’s so sad how alone he is. The culture in Israel is so right-wing, so extreme. They like to pretend this liberal with their protests against Netanyahu, but now they’re all calling for blood as if the last 70 years of occupation never happened, as if they haven’t been killing and starving people this whole time.
The kid is right. There’s no military solution to this conflict. But it’s sad that to say such a obvious thing makes him a pariah in his own home. The US needs to stop supporting that bloodthirsty populace.
If I remember correctly, as I’m no expert in the affairs of Israel; the right wing people vote for this stuff. But they themselves have a religious exemption, so they don’t need to send their own kids to mandatory service.
Very messed up for the youth who have no say. War only affects the civilians who suffer for the goals of their overlords.
I respect conscientious ojbectors, good for him.
My ex’s family were (see: probably still are) Russian Jews who fled to Israel to avoid persecution. They then fled Israel when their eldest (my ex) was 2 years out from manual conscription
Don’t get me wrong, they’re still hardcore zionists, but morality got the better of them.
