Well. So. Um. Hello there. Top of the virtual morning to you all. I am, as can be ascertained by the fact that I’m blobbing, out of jail for now, although I have to report […]
Category: IDF & Refusal to Serve
Plastic Forks and Unusual Rhythms
Here are some observations directly from Mori. As is his wont, the sentences get short and become fragmented when the ideas get more spiritual. I think that is probably appropriate. There are some things we […]
What Am I Trying To Do
Mori is still sitting in prison and I am still filling in on this blogalog. They are having him stomp around while wearing an army hat and, as far as I understand, sit around for […]
Why Not Not Refuse To Serve in The IDF: Contact Info, Haaretz Articles, and Responses
Information trickles in. Mori is enjoying the idyllic vistas of Northern Israel in a twenty person tent, where he is, more than anything else, waiting around. He is expected to be released next Thursday and […]
Update: 10 days, and an interview in Hyper Vocal
We found out recently that Moriel is up North in a military prison, where he will be detained for the next ten days. After that they will presumably release him in order to allow him […]
Updates from across the sea
When I was five years old Mori punched me in the face after we watched “The Sound of Music.” I had not understood that raising my right arm in salute signified support for Nazism. I […]
Live from IDF Military Court
What up. Draftee Rothman here, Soldier Number 1234OccupationNoMore. I’m feeling good. Zen. Sneaky. Blobbing straight from the belly of the beast. Who woulda thunk. I had an amazing send off at Ammunition Hill from 15 […]
Final Update Before My Draft Date
Hello. Tomorrow morning, I will report to the army offices in Giva’at HaTahmoshet in Jerusalem (interestingly: near Sheikh Jarrah and in occupied territory. The irony is sorta delicious), where I will inform the army of […]
To Serve or Not to Serve: A Dialogue Between Me and Myself on the Question of My Service in the IDF (2010-2011)
Forward: There seems to be a bizarre conception among many non-Leftists that we Leftists were born with a Megaphone in hand and developed our critical views of Zionism and militarism in the crib. This view has been expressed over the last few days, following my letter, in various forms: “You need to learn more about this place,” or “You only see one side of things,” or “Why have you never considered joining and being a moral soldier?”
This idea of Leftist-From-Birth, at least in my case, and in the case of most of my Leftist friends, is not the case. I have been wrestling with these issues seriously for a bit over a decade at this point, there were points in my life in which I fully identified with a ”pro-Army” stance, and I have given extensive thought to the idea of ”being a moral soldier.” Since my assertion of such might not suffice for some, I have decided to publish a document I wrote of the course of a year, 2010-2011, on the question of whether or not I would serve in the Israeli military. Many of my views have changed since writing the piece- especially since 2010, but also since the ”conclusion” in 2011- but for the sake of honesty-of-process, I will leave the documented unedited, as I think it will be interesting for some to read the internal process that led me to my recent decision. It also should be an enjoyable read. Sort of bonkers, very non-academic, and amusing
To Serve or Not to Serve
A Dialogue Between Me and Myself on the Question of My Service in the Israeli Army
Note: Any irreverence found in this piece should not be taken to mean that I take this subject lightly, by any means, but rather the opposite: this subject is so heavy for me that I would be unable to write about it without a substantial amount of irreverence.
The Cast:
Mori: Generally opposed to serving in the Israeli military. American based, liberal, humanistic.
Moriel: Generally for serving in the Israeli military, more inclined to “be Israeli,” make change from within.
Scene I (Summer 2010, in Jerusalem): To Be A Part of Israel, or To Be Apart from Israel
Mori: Hey.
Moriel: What up.
Mori: Oh, you know.
Moriel: I do indeed.
Mori: This is weird, talking to you.
Moriel: Whatever. It’s like having an imaginary friend. Who happens to be yourself… Anyway. Yalla. Let’s talk.
Mori: Word. So. You want to join the Israeli army?
Moriel: Do I want to? No. Not really. Actually, really not. At least, I don’t want to join the army in and of itself. I am pretty opposed to idea of armies, of organized groups of people whose basic purpose is to kill other people, of violence. Actually, I’d probably say I am almost a pacifist. Almost.
Mori: Hey, me too. What do you know?
Moriel: Hilarious.
Mori: That’s me. Anyways. If you’re generally opposed to the armies, then why would you voluntarily join one? Yes, I know, you’re being drafted, but you could choose not to go back to Israel and spend the rest of your life working for peace in the Middle East from America, so it is a choice…stop grinning at me, you dweeb. Of course I’m going to ask you loaded questions that are phrased such that they answer themselves- I’m you. Fine, fine, how about this: You could wait until you are 27, and then you could get out of serving no problem. So you are choosing to do this. Why?
Moriel: Well, Mori, it’s simple.
{Music cue: high snare, low snare, cymbal}
Why I Refuse: On God/Love, Nonviolence and Israel’s Military Occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
اقراوا الرسالة بالعربية לקרוא את המכתב בעברית My name is Moriel Zachariah Rothman. I am 23 years old and live in […]