On Tal Mitnick’s first morning inside an Israeli military prison last month, he was ordered into a small classroom. Pinned to its walls were various famous quotes. One caught his attention: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” The name beneath it: Nelson Mandela.
“I nearly laughed to myself,” says the 18-year-old, speaking over Zoom from the bedroom of his family’s Tel Aviv home. “A military upholding apartheid putting that on their wall,” he says, “while South Africa was preparing its case against Israel for the international criminal court? I pointed out how ridiculous this quote being there was. No other prisoners engaged or agreed. I realised how alone I was.”
It’s so sad how alone he is. The culture in Israel is so right-wing, so extreme. They like to pretend this liberal with their protests against Netanyahu, but now they’re all calling for blood as if the last 70 years of occupation never happened, as if they haven’t been killing and starving people this whole time.
The kid is right. There’s no military solution to this conflict. But it’s sad that to say such a obvious thing makes him a pariah in his own home. The US needs to stop supporting that bloodthirsty populace.
If I remember correctly, as I’m no expert in the affairs of Israel; the right wing people vote for this stuff. But they themselves have a religious exemption, so they don’t need to send their own kids to mandatory service.
Very messed up for the youth who have no say. War only affects the civilians who suffer for the goals of their overlords.
Ah, classic Abrahamic “rule for thee, but not for me”