Why do so few Israelis refuse the military draft?

The number of Israelis who openly refuse military service due to the occupation is low; earlier this year, four teenagers refusing together was notable. The low numbers persist despite multiple international human rights groups recognising Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. Now, army violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is at a high not seen in years, Israel’s most far-right government yet is on the verge of taking power, and draft refuser organisations say there has been increased interest in what is seen by most Israelis as a radical step. We hear from two men about why they did it, and why their decision is so rare.

In this episode: 

• Evyatar Rubin, conscientious objector
• Haggai Matar (@Ha_Matar), Executive director of +972 Magazine and former conscientious objector

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Alexandra Locke with Chloe K. Li and our host, Halla Mohieddeen. It was fact-checked by Ruby Zaman. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Our production team includes Chloe K. Li, Alexandra Locke, Ashish Malhotra, Negin Owliaei, Amy Walters, and Ruby Zaman.

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