WhymanyIsraelisagree with this IDF refusenik
TO MANY Israelis, Tair Kaminer has done the unthinkable. But her parents are kvelling.
The Israeli military has just agreed to release the 19-year-old from prison later this month, when she will have served more than half a year for refusing her draft order and become the longest-serving military objector. Kaminer refuses to serve in the army because of the “occupation” and the “oppression of the Palestinian people” — and wants to join the state’s civilian service programme instead.
Speaking to the JC this week, her fat her, Micah Kaminer, said t hat his daughter was following in his family’s left-wing tradition. He said: “We are proud of our daughter. We feel she has done a great service to the countr y and to Israelis.”
H i s p r i d e stems from the Conscientious objector Tair Kaminer fact that she has forced conscientious objection on to the country’s news agenda, with articles about her even appearing in mainstream, centrist press like Yediot Achronot. The tone of the coverage was not sympathetic to her ideological position but tended to argue that her long imprisonment was heavy-handed. It was when the media attention was at its peak that the military decided to free her. The army stressed, however, that she was not being released from prison and her military obligations because it accepted her stance but because she has been deemed i n c o mpa t i b l e with the army and had displayed “poor conduct”. Her r e f us a l t o s e r v e has angered many; there is a widespread view that army service i s a national r e s p o n - s i b i l i t y, regardless of politi- cal views. Support for Ms Kaminer comes only from a fringe sector on the far-left.
A large number of Israelis feel more ambivalent about her treatment, however, for a reason that her father touches on.
“If we were a country where 99 per cent of people were serving in the army and she was an exception, they would have a right to punish her, but we are a country where only about half the population serves,” he said, referring to the fact that religious women are exempt, as are strictlyOrthodox men and all Arabs.
Meanwhile, ot hers avoid t he draft using various tactics — they fake mild psychological disorders; claim alcoholism; or, as Bar Refaeli allegedly did, get married and then divorce just after the exemption letter arrives.
Raising the question as to why the military turns a blind eye to such exemptions but cracks down on Ms Kaminer, who stated her objection honestly, clearly resonated with many Israelis.
Mr Kaminer said: “The army is basically saying, we would rather you lied and get out [of the army] than stand up for your beliefs, and this is the tragedy here.”