Alumna Noa Gur Golan (2014-16), from Israel, has been imprisoned for refusing to join the Israeli army (IDF). Her reasons of conscientious objection have been rejected and she now faces a staunch test for the principles she strongly believes in. The College is therefore publishing her statement, made on the eve of her incarceration, when it was believed that she would face a 5-day sentence before returning before a judge. In actual fact Noa has been sentenced to two weeks before the final sentence is delivered.
“When I was little, I dreamt of being an IDF war pilot. Today, I am 19, and my body aches from the thought of taking part in any belligerent organization. For over a year I have been asking to contribute to society through civic service. In order to receive exemption from the IDF based on reasons of conscience, I had to stand in front of a military committee. The committee rejected my request twice, because its members were not convinced that “reasons of conscience” were my true motives. On July 12, my supposed recruitment date, I will refuse to join the IDF. I will choose to bear the price for my conscience, and thus will be imprisoned for a yet unknown amount of time.
Protective Edge / Gaza War was the first war I experienced as an adult. A meaningful memory that remains with me is the moment when a missile alarm went off during my activity at “Maccabi Youth Movement”. As I took the kids to the protected space, I realized the kind of atmosphere children in this country grow with. An atmosphere full of hate and fear. They grow up in a reality where violence is the norm.
I felt that the morals I was raised upon, of obeying the law and contributing to society, must co-exist with other morals I believe in with all of my heart- the sanctity of all human lives and objection to violence. For this reason, I still tried to make myself fit for the IDF, but I realized that if I wanted to live at peace with myself I could not be a soldier. Not a teacher-soldier nor a clerk. I cannot take part in any militaristic organization.
For the past three years, I had the privilege of meeting friends from the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and other countries. I have gotten to know the people, their personal stories and not the perceptions we were raised upon. This is how I understood that I will not serve violence and death, and that the love I feel towards my friends from my city, Netanya is identical to the love I feel towards my friends from Hebron. With this in mind, I have realized that I will not agree to take part in the oppression of another nation, that I do not believe in building walls but building bridges.
I do not look away from the complicated reality in which we live- the terror attacks and the wars- yet I believe that conflicts of any kind cannot be solved through weapons and violence. I believe that any person’s life is valuable, and each and every one of us must do everything they can in order to change the reality in which we currently live.
I do not blame any soldier or any person who sees life differently than I do. However, I want to believe that in a democratic country there is a place for all of us to live and work towards a better life. A life where all of the people of this piece of land, Israelis and Palestinians, will be free and truly independent. I see my refusal as an active step of showing an alternative to the violent reality in which we have gotten used to living. For the sake of true security, I believe there must be another way.”
29 October 2017: UPDATE
We are thrilled to announce that on Sunday 29th October, after 98 days,
Noa’s request for conscientious objection was accepted and she was released.
