Meet the Shministim
Tamar Katz
Age: 19
Location: Tel-Aviv
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I refuse to enlist in the Israeli military on conscientious grounds. I am not willing to become part of an occupying army, that has been an invader of foreign lands for decades, which perpetuates a racist regime of robbery in these lands, tyrannizes civilians and makes life difficult for millions under a false pretext of security.”
First Sentence: 28th Sept. - 10th Oct. 2008 (12 days)
Second Sentence: 12th - 30th Oct. 2008 (18 days)
Third Sentence: 1st - 22nd Dec. 2008 (21 days)
Yuval Ophir-Auron
Age: 19
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I am convinced that it is no one but ourselves who determines that it is our fate to live by the sword. There is another way, which is not the way of war. This is the path of dialogue, of understanding, of concession, forgiveness, of peace.
I believe that a person should take responsibility and feel reconciled to the way he chooses. This is why I shall not join an army behind whose actions I cannot stand and whose behavior I cannot justify.”
First Sentence: 24th Nov. - 5th Dec. 2008
Second Sentence: 7th - 14th December 2008
Raz Bar-David Varon
Age: 18
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I wasn’t born to serve as a soldier who occupies another, and the struggle against the occupation is mine too. It is a struggle for hope, for a reality that sometimes feels so far away. I have a responsibility for this society. My responsibility is to refuse.”
First Sentence: 3rd - 21st Nov. 2008 (18 days)
Second Sentence: 24th Nov. - 30th Nov. 2008 (6 days)
Third Sentence: 21st Dec. - 9th Jan (currently in prison)
Omer Goldman
Name: Omer Goldman
Age: 19
Location: Tel-Aviv
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I believe in service to the society I am part of, and that is precisely why I refuse to take part in the war crimes committed by my country. Violence will not bring any kind of solution, and I shall not commit violence, come what may.”
First Sentence: 22nd Sept. - 10th Oct. 2008 (18 days)
Second Sentence: 12th - 24th Oct. 2008 (10 days)
Mia Tamarin
Age: 19
Location: Tel-Aviv
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I cannot become part of an organization the purpose of which is to fend off violence by violence, because it stands unequivocally contrary to everything I believe in and to my whole life. There always is another, non-violent option, and it is this option that I choose.”
First Sentence: 28th Sept. - 10th Oct. 2008 (12 days)
Second Sentence: 12th - 24th Oct. 2008 (12 days)
Third Sentence: 5th - 23rd Nov 2008 (18 days)
Sahar Vardi
Age: 18
Location: Jerusalem
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I realize that the soldier at the checkpoint is not responsible for the wretched policy of the oppressor towards civilians, I am unable to relieve that soldier of responsibility for his conduct … I mean the human responsibility of not causing another human being to suffer.”
First Sentence: 25th - 31st Aug. 2008 (6 days)
Second Sentence: 12th - 30th Oct. (18 days)
Third Sentence: 3rd - 21st Nov. 2008 (18 days)
Udi Nir
Age: 19
Location: Tel-Aviv
Why I am one of the Shministim:
“I will not lend my own hand to the occupation and to acts that contradict my most basic values: human rights, democracy and the personal responsibility each and every human being bears towards fellow human beings.”
Sentence: Aug. 21st - Sept. 7th 2008 (18 days)
από το σάιτ των ισραηλινών αρνητών στράτευσης:
www.december18th.org
