This morning, 18-year-old Ayana Gerstmann and Yuval Pelleg refused to enlist in the Israeli military. Gerstmann was sentenced to 30 days in military prison, and Pelleg was sentenced to 20 days.

Before entering the Tel HaShomer enlistment base, Mesarvot Network held a demonstration in support of the two young refusers, with the participation of dozens of past refusers, family members, as well as Member of the Knesset Offer Cassif.

Ayana Gerstmann – Refusal Statement

My name is Ayana Gerstmann, I’m 18 years old, and Israeli law dictates that I must enlist. I have decided to refuse to enlist, as my morals have obligated me to do so, and I choose to act accordingly.

I was raised in a family that often mentioned the moral failure that is in the military service. And yet, at a young age, I did not fully understand what that moral failure of the military service, that my mom would often talk about, actually was. I had no idea what was happening around me – what were the territories and what was the occupation. I remember that in 4th grade I participated in my school’s Jerusalem Day ceremony – I danced, sung and recited nationalistic texts without even imagining that there is a problem with the joyful celebration of what was displayed to us as the “Unification of Jerusalem – The Eternal Capital”.

A year later, in 5th grade, my political ignorance had been shattered. In the days before Jerusalem Day, we were given a research assignment about important places in Jerusalem. It is clear to me today that the goal of that assignment was to strengthen my nationalistic tendencies, but its outcome was the opposite. I read about East Jerusalem, and for the first time was exposed to it as it was depicted in the B’Tselem website. Suddenly my eyes were opened to what hid behind the national pride celebrations I had participated in a year earlier – occupation and oppression. Suddenly, and at once, I had been made aware of the deep suffering of millions of people, that prior I hadn’t even known existed, whose freedom is crushed day by day, hour by hour, by the occupation regime.

From that moment, the realization that I absolutely cannot be a bolt in the military system that is enforcing the occupation regime, and making the lives of the Palestinians miserable as a policy, had been growing. I will not be part of a system that is routinely expelling communities, killing innocents, and allowing settlers to take over their lands.

Since October 7th this realization had come to its peak due to the army’s actions in Gaza. Since the start of the war tens of thousands of women and children had been killed, and hundreds of thousands had been displaced from their homes, living today in refugee camps, deprived of their dignity and starving. This humanitarian catastrophe is a result of the army’s actions, the result of the war that has been going on for nearly two years, and has lost its goals long ago. For two years I see bloodshed as a result of a hopeless war of revenge. I see tens of thousands of Gazan children that are born and raised with endless despair, into death and destruction that make up a neverending circle of hate, revenge and murder. I see hundreds of youths my age getting killed as they are sent by the state to eternalize this circle. I see a war that is only endangering the lives of the hostages. And I cannot be silent in the face of these things.

I cannot be silent in a society silence took over. I do not have the privilege to be silent, when I know that everyone around me has long been silent. Israeli society has been seeing the occupation for six decades and is closing its eyes. Israeli society has been seeing Gazan children killed in bombings and is closing its eyes. Israeli society sees the army committing the worst of moral atrocities, and decides to be silent. Israeli society is not ready to acknowledge the atrocities its army is committing against innocents, because people know that once they do, they will be unable to deal with the guilt. And instead of invoking its morality and opposing the atrocities, Israeli society silences every hint of its immorality, justifies whatever cannot be silenced, and labels any opposition of the war as evil, out of a fear that it will label itself as such, if it will dare to look at the truth.

Throughout the war I hear the phrase “there are no innocents in Gaza” countless times, and am outraged. I hear this phrase normalized more and more. I see people that wholeheartedly believe that even the youngest of Gaza’s children isn’t innocent, and therefore will be given no mercy. On this I want to say: a child is always innocent! For it is obvious to me that I too as a child was innocent, when I took part in the Jerusalem Day ceremonies. I couldn’t choose otherwise when I read out the nationalistic texts I was told to read, while completely ignoring the Palestinian suffering of which I was unaware. An unknowing child cannot make his own choices, and therefore is innocent.

But now, having matured, my innocence is not unconditional. That is why I know that if I decide to stay silent now that I’m aware of the suffering inflicted upon millions by the army, I will be complicit in the crime. Today I know that I cannot be silent in the face of suffering. I cannot be silent in the face of killing and destruction. And today I know that enlisting in the army is worse than silence: it is cooperation with a system that is hurting millions. That is why I refuse, and do so loudly. I will not cooperate, and I will not be part of the silence that enables the worst of atrocities to be committed in my name.

As a citizen of the country I say clearly: the destruction of Gaza – not in my name! The occupation – not in my name! I refuse to be silent, in hope that my voice will open the eyes of others in society, and make them aware of what’s being done in their name, until they stay silent no more.

Yuval Pelleg – Refusal Statement

My name is Yuval Pelleg and today I refuse to enlist.

Like all of us, I remember the atrocities of October 7th and the beginning of the war of destruction well. I also remember the words of Tal Mitnick, who refused to enlist a short time afterwards, and said that the war will bring no progress, only death and destruction. 22 months have passed and his claims have been proven true.

The official goals of the war – dismantling Hamas rule and returning the hostages – have not been achieved. Beneath the claims of “we will bring security” and a “total victory”, however, lurks a sinister truth: the real goal that is driving the war, that which can’t be found in official memos, was, and remains, vengeance. Vengeance that has caused the murder of many tens of thousands of Gazans, including children that on October 7th weren’t yet even born, total destruction of the Gaza strip, and the burning of all hope.

As I witness the crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, an unfortunate fact is revealed regarding enlisting in an army that claims to protect me as a Jew: it is an action incompatible with basic principles of life and equality for all human beings, but rather joining a system whose essence is oppression, occupation and destruction.

In the past, I had hoped to contribute to society in a meaningful and important way through my military service. I studied computer science and hoped to serve in intelligence, to learn and develop in the army and afterwards get a good job in high-tech. Sadly, every red line that I could have imagined (and many more that never even crossed my mind) has been crossed. There is no excusing or justifying the crimes that the State of Israel has committed in the last two years, and generally throughout its entire history. The conclusion is clear: refusing is not only a right but an obligation, and the first step towards improving the lives of all the land’s occupants.

We must understand that the Gaza genocide is not happening randomly or because of “bad luck” in electing leaders. It is a result of long processes of fascization in the area and a logical conclusion derived from Zionism’s basic principles. The State of Israel has been gaining experience in crimes and terror since the early stages of its founding, and today their extent and acceptance by society are larger than ever. On one hand the ignorance of morality and international law have always been familiar to the State, and on the other hand we are clearly in the midst of a decline – it is safe to assume that if Nathan Alterman wrote “Al Zot” (a 1948 poem criticizing Israeli war crimes) today he would be met mainly with calls of “traitor” and “go to Gaza”.

Rightfully, the IDF is not regarded throughout the world as a moral army, and certainly not “the most moral army in the world”. Its actions and aspirations – mass killing of children, induced starvation, and even plans to establish a concentration camp – that is to say genocide, inspire hatred and disgust, and if we put aside the nationalism and tribalism it is easy to see that rage, hatred and opposition are not radical reactions and certainly not antisemitic, but rather moral, minimal and warranted in response to the crimes aforementioned.

Despite all the crimes, the nations of the world continue to supply the Israeli destruction machine with weapons and funding. I will soon be imprisoned for my refusal to take part in the slaughter, and I call upon you, the people of the world: intensify the struggle! Join me and resist the destruction and genocide with all your might.

Finally we must remember: this is not about me. This is about the destruction, the people that are murdered, the dialogue that has been driven to extinction, and the justice that has been buried under Gaza’s rubble.

I strive to take part in a struggle for life, equality, and freedom. In this struggle, I find one thing clear: the army and I are in opposition.

That is why I refuse.