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Israeli Female Refusers

Michal Stoller Talks About Female Refusers

According to Israeli law, female pacifists must be released. The law doesn't require the release of male pacifists. The army can arbitrarily decide whether or not to release men. People who refuse because of the occupation are not recognized by the army as COs and are sent to prison.

I havn't met with the Conscience Committee yet, but I understand that it is made up of a few people who make the decision to release you or not. They decide if you are a pacifist or a "selective" refuser, a term for people who refuse to serve because of the occupation. To get a meeting with this committee one has to send a letter explaining his or her reasons for refusal, and then he or she has to make a presentation in front of the committee. A person can have two witnesses. If the committee doesn't release the person, he or she can appeal once. If the second committee doesn't grant a release either, the person is drafted. But most women who meet with the committee are released. The army does not need women as much as men, so it is not a big problem for them if females refuse.

Another way refusal is different for males and females is that if you are male, you will most likely be sent to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and fight there. Most girls are not fighters. If you are a woman and want to fight, you must insist upon it. That's why there are no "selective" female refusers; if a woman doesn't want to serve in the occupied territories, she won't.

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