Sixth formers vs the Israeli Defence Force
By Joan Trevor Six high-school students are being court-martialed in Israel for refusing the draft. Their defence rests on the idea that they are conscientious objectors (CO). If they are unsuccessful, they face long prison sentences. Many such draft refusers have already sat in military jails for hundreds of days for the crime of refusing. One of the six students is a pacifist, pure and simple, the others have refused to serve in the Israeli Defence Force because it is making life hell for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. They are being supported by the Shministim (Hebrew for “high...