The Israeli teenagers risking jail, friendships and family to refuse conscription to the IDF

Six months in an Israeli military prison and branded a traitor by friends; it has been a tough year for Itamar Greenberg.

The 19-year-old Israeli Jew made the rare decision to refuse conscription to the IDF last August as it waged its devastating war in Gaza. Instead, Itamar accepted half a year behind bars alongside military criminals.

“I have lost friends, sadly,” he tells The Independent. “I have a lot of friends who are soldiers, some of them decided to cut our connection. They actually think I’m a traitor. I understand what they feel, but obviously I don’t agree.”

Since his release four months ago, Itamar has continued supporting fellow young refusers willing to risk ostracisation from Israeli society by defying the mandatory order for all Jewish, Druze or Circassian citizens of Israel to serve years with the IDF.

Men must serve at least 32 months in the army, while women must serve at least 24 months. Israeli Arabs, religious women, married individuals, and those deemed medically or mentally unfit are exempt from compulsory military service, the IDF says on its website.

Last Tuesday, a group of young refusers burnt their army draft letters during a rally in Tel Aviv. Another protest also took place in Jerusalem on Tuesday this week, when ultra-orthodox Jews blocked a highway to protest military conscription – although their objection is centred around protecting their strong religious identity, as opposed to conscientious objections to the IDF’s actions in Gaza.

The refuser movement, activists say, is growing. But Itamar says they remain on the fringes, despised by some, disliked by many.

The fear of being jailed, and of being shunned to the periphery of Israeli society after their release, drives many young adults who disagree with the IDF’s actions to join the army nonetheless.

“I have friends that are afraid of going to prison and some of them are in the army,” Itamar explains. “Some don’t want to be in the army. They think it’s immoral. They are joining it because they are afraid of Israeli society and the consequences on their social life.”

Itamar recalls one of his good friends who came close to refusing service. When his family told him he would be kicked out of the house if he did not serve, the friend gave in – and is now with the IDF.

Family life is complicated for Itamar, too. The son of an army officer, he avoids engaging in debates around politics and activism while at home, choosing instead to remain silent while his father discusses his work.

“He’s proud of it, all of the family are proud of it,” Itamar says, explaining that bringing his activist views inside the family home would only damage their relationship to no avail.

Last week’s rally, which saw dozens take to the streets in support of a handful of young Israelis who set their draft on fire, came at a time of increasing international pressure on Israel.

Starvation has torn through the devastated enclave, killing dozens of children, Palestinian health officials say. In recent weeks, catastrophic levels of hunger have seen the first hunger-related deaths spiral – something experts and UN officials say is a result of Israel’s blockade on aid entering Gaza has pushed the strip to the brink of famine. Israel says the hunger crisis is because of a “man-made shortage” of food, which is “engineered by Hamas”,

Palestinian health officials say the IDF has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians since its bombardment began on 7 October 2023, soon after Hamas-led attacks killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.

For the few on the Israeli left who have refused service on ideological grounds, the ongoing destruction in Gaza has added an unique complexity to their daily lives.

“It’s very complicated to live in a society, to walk in the street and you know that most people around you are war criminals, or taking part in genocide,” Itamar says. Most Israelis who want the war to end, he adds, don’t care about the lives of Palestinians, but rather they “want the soldiers back home; they’re afraid for their lives”.

Yona Roseman, 19, was among those to burn her draft letter last week. She expects to be jailed when her conscription date passes in 24 days.

“It’s scary,” she says of a looming stint in prison. Yona’s parents, while they have come to understand her choice, were initially not very supportive of her decision. “But I don’t have any second thoughts about it. It’s very much what needs to be done.”

Like Itamar, Yona says the decision has made her an “outcast” in Israel.

“It’s a decision which takes you out of mainstream society. I have friends from my class who cut ties with me over my decision. My social circle these days is made up of people who are with me in this sort of activism, so I have a community, but it’s disconnected from the rest of society.”

Yona and Itamar are tentative in their hopes for any significant change in public mood in Israel. They both note that interest in the refuser movement is growing, but Yona believes that almost everyone who could have refused would have done so by now. “I don’t know what could change for them to stop showing up and fighting,” she says.

Instead, the young activists hope that those who are already serving in the army will turn their backs on it.

Itamar speaks of a friend who serves in the IDF and is “not a leftist”. He says the friend recently messaged into a group chat: “I don’t know how to say it, but it’s started to look like we’re doing genocide.”

Yona also has friends in the IDF who tell her that they lack the bravery to be a refuser. “I feel for them, but really, they should just get out of that. It’s not an easy process, but it’s not a complicated decision.”

But despite being part of an ostracised group in Israeli society, losing several friends and spending a six-month stint in prison, Itamar wishes he could do more.

He says: “I just feel that I don’t do enough, even though almost all my life has been for stopping [occupation]. I just don’t know how.”