“I will refuse to serve in the army”: young Israelis decide not to enlist

This long-lasting war between Israel and Hamas requires a rotation of armed troops, particularly Israeli reservists. However, some of the young people called to enlist refuse to do so.

This is the case of Sofia Orr, one of the voices of young Israelis who say enough about the conflict. He lives in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, north of Tel Aviv. Sofia is 18 years old, old enough to enlist in the army. “In February, I will refuse to serve in the Israeli army and I will go to military prison for it,” tells the 18-year-old young woman to Sandrine Mallon and Willy Moreau, France Info special correspondents for RFI.

Sofia is one of the leaders of the “Mesarvote” movement, an anti-militarist group that already has dozens of members: “The majority of people in this country have this military spirit, which supports the army no matter what, and that of course includes close people. Sometimes they call me a traitor or a hateful Jew. “It’s really difficult,” he admits.

His face was made public, as was that of his friend Tal Mitnick, the first to refuse military service since October 7. Last week he was sentenced to a first month of arrest.

“You can get a waiver, do it quietly and not be publicly shamed for it. But that’s not an option for me. I feel like I need to speak publicly and try to make as much impact as possible,” says Sofia Orr.

Since then, he has tirelessly repeated: “The extremist violence of Hamas cannot be fought with more violence. I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. We must make peace, there is no other option.

Five Israeli brigades will withdraw or redeploy soon. Reservists will also take time off to prepare for “prolonged combat,” according to the Israeli military. For David Rigoulet-Roze, associate researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) and editor-in-chief of the magazine Strategic Orientinterviewed by RFI, the Army press release indicates that the war is entering “a new phase”.

“According to IDF statements, this is a redeployment aimed at allowing them to resume their work, so there is an economic logic and, I quote (IDF): ‘We are planning the management of the forces operating on the field by examining the reserve system, the economy, the renewal of forces. There is therefore today a rotation system at work, which shows that we are entering a new phase, as has been mentioned several times,” believes the researcher.

“The first phase would consist of massive bombings, the second of ground operations and a third phase which would be of less intensity, particularly in northern Gaza. This would be in line with American requests, notably those of Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s American security adviser, who wanted to see lower intensity operations from January. But this does not mean a change of strategy, but is part of long-term planning,” analyzes the researcher.

As David Rigoulet-Roze points out, the reasons for the withdrawal of Israeli reservists can be strategic, but also economic: “There were 360,000 mobilized, which represents between 10% and 15% of Israeli troops, particularly in small and medium-sized forces. businesses. businesses. This is the essence of economic structure. There is therefore a clear economic impact.”

“There is also a budgetary impact, with a deficit of around 8%. But beyond that, we can wonder about the relocation arrangements. “Some are raising the possibility of a redeployment of units towards the north of the country, with the possible opening of a front on the Lebanese border,” he adds.