Omar Sa’ad reports to Israeli army induction base and announces his refusal to enlist. He is expected to be sentenced to prison. Sa’ad has declared his refusal to be ‘both nationally and conscientiously motivated.’ Sa’ad is now expected to be sentenced in a disciplinary proceeding to a period of up to one month in military prison for refusing conscription after reporting to an Israeli induction base Wednesday morning. While Muslim and Christian Arabs with Israeli citizenship are exempt from military service, Druze men are required to serve for three years.(Druze women, however, are exempt, as are religious Jewish women.) As is the case with most conscientious objectors, Sa’ad is likely to be sentenced, imprisoned and then called for service on the day after his release from prison, whereupon his renewed refusal would lead him back behind bars in a cycle of imprisonment that can go on for an unlimited period of time. Natan Blanc, the last outspoken conscientious objector, had to go through 10 incarcerations and spend half a year in jail before being exempted from military service. It is known that authorities tend to be harsher with Druze objectors than with Jewish ones. “I know I’m going to prison, and I know there’s no way of telling how long it’ll be, but I am willing to endure this and not be a part of their army,” Sa’ad told +972 on the evening before reporting to refuse duty. His conscientious objection is derived from both a pacifist and humanist agenda, as well as a Palestinian national identity, he explained. The following is a video of Sa’ad speaking with Social TV earlier this year: youtube/watch?v=1UJDV-Clsyk&feature=player_embedded
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:10:21 +0000
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