Following his sentencing to 100 days in military prison, 18-year-old Tal Mitnik from Tel Aviv announced that his refusal to serve in the military is aimed at "trying to influence Israeli society and avoiding participation in the occupation and the massacre happening in Gaza." In a message addressed to the military leadership and public opinion, he stated, "I am trying to say that what the army is executing in Gaza does not suit me, and I do not accept that it be done in my name or in the name of my security. The massacre will achieve nothing. On the contrary, I express my solidarity with the innocents in Gaza. I know they want to live and do not deserve to be refugees for the second time in their lives."
He added, "There is no military solution to a political problem. I refuse to join an army that believes it can ignore the real problem, under a government that continues only the policy of grief and pain. Change will not come from the corrupt politicians here or from the leaders of (Hamas), who are also corrupt. It will come from us, the sons and daughters of both peoples, who affirm that the violence exercised by the army over the years does not protect us."
Mitnik asserted that the cycle of bloodshed is, in fact, a cycle of the army's violence. Like any army, it leads to more bloodshed, and this army "is nothing more than a contractor for maintaining the occupation and the settlement project, and that, at the moment of truth, it abandoned the residents of the south and the entire state."
In his message, Mitnik wrote, "On October 7, last month, Israeli society experienced an unprecedented shock in the history of the country. In a horrifying invasion, (Hamas) killed hundreds of innocent civilians, kidnapped hundreds more, killed families in their homes, slaughtered youth during a party, and kidnapped 240 people to Gaza." He perceived that after the terrorist attack, "a retaliatory campaign began not only against (Hamas) but also against the entire Palestinian people: indiscriminate bombing of residential neighborhoods and refugee camps in Gaza, full military and political support for the violence of settlers in the West Bank, and widespread political repression within Israel."
The young man rebelling against military service in Israel believed that the cycle of violence "is the only inevitable solution for (Hamas), as well as the army and the political level, without considering a real solution that grants security and freedom to all of us," stressing that he refuses to believe that "more violence will bring security; thus, I refuse to participate in the war of revenge."
The army had summoned Mitnik to the "Conscience Committee" of the Israeli army, which includes four officers and one civilian, to examine his stance, determining whether he is indeed refusing service out of conscience or for political reasons to incite other soldiers. They concluded that he is not a war resister for conscientious reasons, and he was sentenced to 100 days in military prison, making him the first resister to be tried in this war.
Mitnik is a politically active young man who participated in protests against the government's plan to overturn the governance system and judiciary for ten months prior to the war. Like many youths, he joined the "Anti-Occupation Bloc" and was a member of the "Youth Against Dictatorship" initiative. In an interview published on the Hebrew website "Sicha Mechomit" before entering prison, he stated that he decided to refuse enlistment "because I am not willing to serve this system that promotes apartheid in the occupied territories and only contributes to the cycle of bloodshed. I understood, from my very unique place (I have a supportive family and environment), that I have an obligation to use this to reach more young people and show that there is another way. Those I spoke with about why I am not going to the army understand that this is from a humanitarian perspective considering others. No one thinks that I support (Hamas). Some believe that military activities will bring security, and I believe that my public refusal is what will have an impact and bring the most security."
He criticized the government's policy, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, stating, "Netanyahu is not the 'master of security,' and his policy has not brought us security. Maintaining the conflict and the method of managing the conflict is a policy that has failed and collapsed in the end. The current situation cannot continue, and there are now two parties: the right proposes the expulsion and genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. I believe that even the voters of (Likud) or (Shas) would not support genocide and the erasure of all Palestinians in Gaza. The other side says that there are Palestinians here, and they have rights. Even those who voted for (Bibi), and even those who supported the legal reform, can reconcile with the reality that everyone deserves to live in justice."
