The irony in arrest of conscientious objector Noam Gur

By Yossi Gurvitz May 7, 2012 | Edit

Noam Gur is sitting in a military prison for refusing to be drafted. If she was willing to pretend to be an Orthodox woman, she’d be home scot-free.

Noam Gur, a conscientious objector, was imprisoned twice so far since refusing to serve in the IDF. She is likely to be tried and jailed again soon. She was forced to wear a uniform, and she faced difficulties receiving the vegan food she requires while in jail.

This rare example of a young person’s courage in the face of an oppressive system is tainted with irony, when you recall that women who do not want to serve in the army can avoid conscription rather easily: all they have to do is state they are observant Orthodox Jews and that military service does not fit their way of life. And that’s it: a small lie and it’s over. The religious parties make certain the Green Beast’s ability to corroborate this statement would be minimal.

So, if your conscience forbids you from serving in the IDF, the system will put its whole weight against you and try to break you. If, on the other hand, you say your imaginary friend forbids you to – even though your relationship has long been in the “it’s complicated” region, and you’re contemplating a restraining order against him – you just slip away. That’s life for you in the Jewish State pretending to be democratic: there is no conscience, there are only religious edicts.

Read also:
J’accuse: Israeli youth headed to prison for refusing the draft

I am Yossi Gurvitz, a 40-year old journalist, blogger and photographer. I write for several Israeli publications, including the influential financial daily Calcalist and the Nana portal. In the past, I’ve been deputy editor of Nana News, and with Itamar Shaaltiel edited its 2006 Knesset elections section. I was raised as an Orthodox Jew, graduated from a Yeshiva (Nehalim), but saw the light and turned atheist at about the age of 17. After the mandatory three years in the military, much more strictly enforced in 1988 than now, I studied history and classics, earning a BA degree, and studying three additional years towards an MA, but abandoned the project in favor of earning my living as a journalist. [It seemed a good idea at the time.]

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