Anti-occupation IDF draft dodger released from prison

Draft refuser Tamar Ze’evi has been released from prison after a committee accepted her exemption request over Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinians, she says in a statement.

According to Mesarvot, an organization of conscientious objectors, this is the first case of a draft refuser getting released from military service over refusal “to serve in an army that occupies another people.”

However, the Israel Defense Forces says it was not granted because of her specific disagreement with Israel’s policies in the West Bank, but as Ze’evi “opposed army service of any kind.”

The army adds that this is not a new phenomenon but is part of the “army’s years-long policy and Supreme Court precedent.”

Ze’evi served 115 days in the army’s Prison 6. Another draft refuser, Tamar Alon, who went into prison three days before Ze’evi was not granted an exemption, Mesarvot said.

— Judah Ari Gross