Israel

Headquartered in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, United States, Combined Systems Inc. (CSI)—often manufacturing under the brand name Combined Tactical Systems (CTS)—supplies Tunisia, Yemen, Germany, Netherlands, India, East Timor, Hong Kong, Argentina, Chile, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, as well as its most high-profile clients as of late— Egypt and Israel.

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Sahar Vardi

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Ruti Kantor and Diana Dolev

Background

The first International day of action For Military-Free Education and Research was organized by War Resisters International on June 14th 2013. Activists in India, Germany, South Africa, the State of Spain, Chile, Congo, the USA and Israel, called for a separation of the military from education.

Those of you on our CO-Alert email list will have been aware of the situation of Natan Blanc. After ten imprisonments, Israeli CO Natan Blanc was exempted from military service. The Israeli military's Exemption Committee declared Natan unfit for duty on 30th May, six months after he initially reported to the induction centre and declared his refusal.

Sahar Vardi

Israel has had, since its creation, mandatory military service for both men and women. It prides itself, both internally and externally, on its relatively gender-equal military in which women can both contribute to their society just as men can, and get an opportunity to prove their worth. The apparent gender equality presented by the military provokes a particular feminist perspective on the conscription of women.

Together, we in No to Compulsory Military Service (Egypt) and New Profile (Israel) confirm our support of peace and of conscientious objectors in both countries, re-affirming the human right to freedom of conscience, faith and self-determination.

Israeli conscientious objector Natan Blanc is how in prison for the ninth time. At the end of this spell, he will have been in prison for more than 150 days altogether.

After his seventh prison sentence, Natan appeared in front of the “Incompatibility Committee” - at his request. However, on February 24th they ruled that he could not be released from military service, and was once again scheduled to return to the Induction Centre, and hence faced another imprisonment.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pinvfnC6gdI width:400 height:300]

Natan Blanc is caught in a cat and mouse game with the Israeli authorities: he is being repeatedly released from prison, and then detained again after he refuses to be enlisted in the Israeli army. Here's why he's doing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pinvfnC6gdI

17 January 2013

Re: Prisoner of conscience Nathan Blanc

Dear Sir,

I am writing you about conscientious objector Nathan Blanc, who was first arrested on November 19th, 2012, due to his refusal to serve in the IDF, and has since served three terms of imprisonment.

Earlier this year I lived for three months in Bethlehem, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. I served as part of the Ecumenical Accompanier Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) are human rights observers that seek to monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law; offer a 'protective presence' (more on this later!); stand in solidarity with vulnerable communities; and do advocacy work.

Most Israelis believe that an ongoing state of emergency is justified, and that a large conscript and reservist military will help to keep them safe from surrounding enemies, who desire to annihilate Israel and 'push us into the sea'.