Israeli Activist Chooses Jail Over Military Service to Protest the Occupation

(GV) – Mattan Helman, 20 years old, refuses to serve in the Israeli military, even though doing so means he is breaking the country’s law. Helman is an activist from HaOgen in central Israel, approximately 26 kilometers north-west of Tel Aviv. He was assigned to the Nahal Brigrade, one of the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) main infantries operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, but believes joining up would legitimise Israel’s “immoral” control over the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza. At the time of writing, Helman was serving his second sentence,…

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