Conscientious objector, whom Israel held in prison for months: Who is Tal Mitnick?

He was imprisoned for 30 days because he did not agree to join the military.

This young man, who was 18 years old in 2023, refused to take part in the Israeli army, which had been raining death on Gaza for about 3 months at that time and brutally murdered more than 20 thousand Palestinians, mostly women and children and was sentenced to prison.

Mitnick, who prepared a defense on the issue, stated that he thought violence would not bring security, and that Palestinians also had the right to live in these lands. Mitnick, who was tried for his decision, was sentenced to 30 days in prison. If he refuses to perform military service once again after his release, his punishment will be multiplied and repeated until he completes military service.

Mitnick also mentioned that Israel committed war crimes and said, “I cannot even imagine how many cases were born on the wrong side of the fence, killed because they were innocent, and not investigated. I don't agree with people saying, "No negotiations with Hamas." "The only way to prevent death and destruction is through diplomacy, political effort, and policy change," he said.

Writing that the Israeli army has given them nothing but blood and grief, Mitnick said, “The violent actions that the army has preferred and continues to do for years do not protect us. We are in an endless cycle of violence. "The army brings nothing but more blood with its actions," he said.

July 2024

18-year-old Tal Mitnick was the first Israeli conscientious objector to be arrested after last October when the Israeli occupation in Palestine reached genocidal proportions. He spent the longest period in prison and was released on July 7, six months later.

Historical background of conscientious objection in Israel

The history of the conscientious objection movement in Israel dates back to the very beginning when the state of Israel was founded in 1948. The very next year, it became law that 18-year-old men (let's say the majority of men, there may be different conditions) had to serve 32 months in the military, and women had to serve 24 months. In the 1950s, the anti-war, pacifist, and then conscientious objection movement began to blossom. All conscientious objection movements globally are not limited to objections to compulsory military service, even though the language, dosage, and political framework may change. Since then, conscientious objectors in Israel have become centers that can criticize the occupation and citizenship based on ethnic homogeneity in the mainstream, apart from military service.

It would be unrealistic to say that each of them thinks exactly the same today, but their objections go to the root of the issue and their demands are urgent. Joseph Abileah, one of the first war opponents to be tried, said at the hearing in 1949: “I sat at the same desk with Arab children at school. "Do you expect me to kill my schoolmates?" A vein rising from a clear, bare ground.