From military truck driver to conscientious objector
The Israeli army has sent Roman Levin to Military Prison 6,
after he arrived at the military base where he had served for a year and a half
and informed his commanding officer of his refusal to continue any further
military service.
“I have been serving as a truck driver, and many of these
drives have been through the Occupied Territories. When I was drafted I thought
the military serves the interests of the citizens of Israel, but after serving
in the Occupied Territories I have realized that what the army is
doing there does not serve the my interests and those of all working Israelis.
Especially not after the continuous killing of the protesters on the Gaza
fence.”
“I have come to the conclusion that one must choose – you
cannot both object to the occupation, racism and capitalist order, and serve in
the military that perpetuates these.”
On the morning of Monday, Feb. 25, activists mobilized by
the Mesarvot Nework and the Yesh Gvul movement accompanied Roman Levin to
the gates of the Ben Ami Transport Camp (Bayt Nabala), and held a support
vigil there. Inside, Levin made his statement to the officers, and was
subjected to an "instant trial" lasting about five minutes -
culminating with his being sent to 30 days in Military Prison 6. From past
experience it can be expected that at the end of these 30 days, a second
such "instant trial" would be held and he would be returned to
the prison.
In such "trials" there is nothing remotely
resembling due process - the accused cannot have a lawyer or call any witnesses,
the procedure is held in camera at the commanding officer's bureau, with no
access to the public or media, and as noted it rarely lasts more than five
minutes. There is no legal limit on how many times the army can repeat the
procdure. Repeated 30-day terms can accumulate into years of imprisonment, with
never any real legal process. The only limit is in the amount of solidarity and
public attention given to an imprisoned CO. Past practice has shown that, when
a prisoner gets public attention and support, in Israel and abroad, the
military authorities eventually let him or her go - though it often happens
only after numerous repetitions of the "instant trial" routine.
The topography around Military Prison 6, located at Atlit -
on the coastal plain between Tel Aviv and Haifa - gives an important advantage
to refuser support activists. Near the prison is a mountain: not very high as
mountains go, but high enough that people standing at the top - waving banners
and hands, shouting and chanting - are clearly visible and audible inside the
prison compound. Thus the prisoner, fellow inmates and prison staff are all
made well aware that this prisoner does not stand alone, but has an active
support network on the outside; this has direct implication on the military
authorities decision on how long they intend to keep hold on this
prisoner.
The tradition of support demonstrations on the mountain
opposite Military Prison 6 was established back in 1982, when numerous reserve
soldiers refused to take part in the first Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It has
been continued for numerous objectors, such as those who refused to take part
in suppressing the First Intifada in 1988 and the Second one in 2000. It has
now been invoked on behalf of Roman Levin, when dozens of activists
climbed the mountain on the morning of March 9, calling out "Roman, Roman,
we are with you!" and waving a giant banner reading "The Refusers are
the True Heroes". Probably, it will need to be repeated several
times before he is set free.
* * *
When Roman Levin was three year old, his family took the decision to
move from the Ukraine to Israel. They settled at Bat Yam, a lower middle class
suburb of Tel Aviv. A year and a half ago, Roman reached the age of 18 and
enlisted in the army. At the time he was highly motivated, believing that by
performing military service he would be contributing to Israeli society and
fulfilling his civic duty. His experiences during a year and half in the army
caused a profound change of mind - leading to his declaring his refusal to
continue serving, while knowing that this would inevitably result in going to
prisons.
In his refusal letter, which he composed before being
imprisoned, Roman Levin wrote: “Currently there is a civil war going on in
the Ukraine, and when I visited there a few months ago, I met soldiers who did
not know what they were fighting and dying for. I empathized with them because
I too have no confidence whatsoever in the Israeli military policy – the focus
of which is the preservation of the occupation. This experience made me rethink
the significance of my own military service. In the Ukraine I encountered
people who disparaged me as a Jew, while in Israel I was disparaged as "a
Russian".
“I served in the military as a truck driver, and many of my
drives have been through the occupied territories. When I was drafted I thought
the military serves the interests of the citizens of Israel, but after serving
in the occupied territories I have realized that what the military does there
does not serve the my interests and those of all working Israelis. Especially
not after the continuous killing of the protesters on the Gaza fence. The
Jewish-Nation Law increased my understanding of this. I have come to the
conclusion that one must chose – you cannot both object to the occupation,
racism and capitalist order, and also serve in the military that perpetuates
these.”
“Economically speaking, it would have been better for me and my family if I
were to finish my service and gain at the army's expense the expensive truck
driver license, which could provide me with decent livelihood in later civilian
life. But for most Palestinians, and especially those in the Gaza strip, such
option for social and economic advance are not open. While the noose tightens
around the neck of the Palestinian people, Inside Israel the gap between rich
and poor also grows. The poverty that drains the hope for a better future from
working Israelis, the government justifies with war. The state spends 70
billion Shekels a year on the defense budget, instead of investing in
education, health and welfare.”
Roman Levin is supported by Mesarvot – a network
supporting politically-motivated refusal, and coordinates the activity of
refuser groups and the signatories of refuser letters which appeared in last
few years. The network supports conscientious objectors who choose to not
enlist in the occupation army, and takes into account the gender aspects which
compulsory enlistment brings to Israeli society. There is gender discrimination
and sexual harassment inside the army, which influence and impact Israeli
society as a whole. There is also the army's program of opening to women
soldiers greater options of combat service, which leads to their being directly
involved in oppressing the Palestinian population, including the oppression
of Palestinian women - which is why an increasing number of young
female refusers reject out of hand this form of "women's
empowerment". The network works in cooperation and assistance from the
older Yesh Gvul Movement, whose history goes back to the First
Lebanon war in 1982.
Attached please find a photo of Roman. Credit: Mesarvot PR.
Dror Mizrahi
Media | Strategy | PR
Cell: +972-50-7248688
TEL AVIV-JAFFA, ISRAEL
Refusal supporters holding a vigil outside the Bayt Nabala
military base, while Roman Levin was being sent to prison
