“Refusal then and now”: IJV U of T hosts panel with Israeli military refusers

 

Panel talks to Israelis who were jailed for refusing to serve in Israel’s military

On March 12, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) U of T and IJV Toronto and York Region hosted a panel discussion at Friends House called “Refusal then and now: Refusing complicity, resisting repression, reframing solidarity.” 

While IJV U of T is not a U of T-recognized group, the event was moderated by award-winning journalist and U of T alumna Samira Mohyeddin and featured Tal Mitnick and Einat Gerlitz — two young Israelis who were jailed for refusing to serve in Israel’s military — along with UTSC history Professor Natalie Rothman and legal academic, journalist, and U of T alumna Azeezah Kanji.

The panel began with a statement from Rothman, who shared that she too, was a refuser of Israeli military service in the 1990s. However, she noted that unlike Mitnick and Gerlitz, she “paid very little price for [her] refusal to serve.” 

Rothman discussed what she calls “co-resistance” and how it differs from other forms of protest like military refusal or conscientious objection, which is the refusal to perform a legal obligation or action due to deeply held moral or religious beliefs. 

Co-resistance, according to Rothman, is “a term that really unlocks… some very critical questions about ‘what are we resisting to? What is the past that we’re analyzing and understanding? How are we resisting?’” Instead of the responsibility being on an individual and their act of participation, co-resistance critiques the systems and institutions of oppression that mandate participation.

She described the concept of conscientious objection as “misleading” because “it can falsely maintain [a] distinction between ethical and political grounds for refusing conscription.” 

She also criticized the concept of refusal as being too “individualized” saying that people often refuse to be affected by institutions that they do not want to be part of, but neglect critiquing the very institution’s legitimacy. 

The discussion then shifted to the two Israeli military “refuseniks,” as they were referred to during the panel.  (more...)

“Refusal then and now”: IJV U of T hosts panel with Israeli military refusers