Canadian-Israeli ‘deserter’ sentenced to 3 months in prison

Under plea bargain, Yana Gorelik’s month of incarceration served pending trial to be deducted from her sentence

Illustrative photo of a female prison guard at the Neve Tirza prison in Ramle (photo credit: Moshe Shai/Flash90)
Illustrative photo of a female prison guard at the Neve Tirza prison in Ramle (photo credit: Moshe Shai/Flash90)

The Jaffa Military Court on Thursday sentenced Yana Gorelik, the 30-year old Canadian-Israeli who was imprisoned for allegedly dodging the IDF draft, to three months in prison.

The sentence was the result of a plea bargain between the IDF and Gorelik. According to the terms of the agreement, the month of incarceration served by Gorelik ahead of the trial is to be deducted from the sentence.

Following the confirmation of the arrangement, Gorelik’s lawyer Benny Koznitz said the defense was “pleased to see the end of it.”

Gorelik moved from Israel to Canada with her family at age 17 and had visited Israel several times over the last two years without a problem. On September 2, she entered Israel to attend a family wedding, but was detained at Ben Gurion Airport as a deserter from the IDF.

Gorelik said the authorities treated her like “a delinquent, and threw me in jail with other girls. They treated us like we were dogs. That’s it, I am finished with Israel. I don’t want to be a citizen anymore.”

In response, the IDF said that “Gorelik did not complete her exemption from military service in 2007 as requested by the IDF,” stating that the failure to do so was legally considered desertion. All children born in Israel who live here until the age of 15 are required to serve in the military unless they receive an official exemption. Those who reside abroad can complete an exemption process in their local embassies.

The army said that Gorelik had been incarcerated, served an indictment and judged like any other army deserter. Gorelik maintains that the Israeli consulates in both Canada and London had told her that because of her age as displayed on her new passport, she did not need to file for an official exemption.

Gabe Fisher contributed to this report.

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