Study war no more

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I remember the first time I saw an Israeli soldier wearing a machine gun. I had only seen a gun once before in my life, a pistol carried by a police officer in France a few years ago. This time I was at a checkpoint between Beit Jala and Jerusalem. The sight of the machine gun was so shocking that it almost made me cry. I know that there is an occupation and that soldiers carry weapons, but still to see something that is produced to kill people is absurd to me. Now I am used to soldiers and machine guns. They are everywhere, not just at the checkpoints, but in the streets, cafes and buses, as Israel has many soldiers, and most of them carry their weapon even when they are off duty. I have seen settlers carrying machine guns as well. Despite the amount of settler violence towards Palestinians, settlers are not checked and disarmed at the many checkpoints scattered over the West Bank. Protection is for Israelis, not Palestinians.

A while ago I met with Ruth Hiller, who is active in a movement called New Profile. It is a feminist organization working for the demilitarization of the Israeli society. Ruth told me some interesting things about the Israeli military. She described how different parts of society are influenced by it, for instance how army networks are dominating politics as well as business. "One of the most militarized public spheres is the schools", she said. There are assistants in schools wearing uniforms, and often the principal is an ex-general (They retire and re-educate at 44.). Recruiting takes place during the two last years in high school: Different tests take place there, and military officials come to encourage the pupils to join different units. Teachers are obliged to identify children with low motivation and report them. People from the military dressed in civil then come and talk to them.

Some may have heard about how young Israelis who refuse to enter the army, have to go to jail. You can read about some of them on this website. When these conscientious objectors have finished their sentence, they are again asked to join the army, and if they say no, they are sent to prison once more. Often it continues like this until jail has made the objector so depressed that he or she is excempt on medical grounds. These people are not the only ones who avoid military service, however. Of the around 80 percent of the Israeli population who are Jewish, a total of 25 percent of high school graduates do not go into the military. Another 26 percent don't complete their service (two years for men and three years for women, men also have reserve service until they are 42). "The myth is that every Jewish boy and girl go into the military. People think that they don't have any other future than being a soldier", Ruth said, and continued: "In Israel you are not allowed to postpone your service a few years like you can in Europe, which means that there is no time to think. Israel could not have conscripted that many at the age of 21, because then people have matured as individuals." She added that soldiers live at home during their service, and only are paid around 100 dollars a month. "That's below minimum wage. It's slave labour", she concluded.

New Profile's main focus is giving support and counseling to people who question their military service or have decided to refuse. They cooperate with other Israeli organizations working in the same field. "It is our belief that there is always a choice", Ruth declared. "There are different ways of solving a conflict. Israelis are told that war is the only way. In New Profile we question this. After all it hasn't been working for 63 years".
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