Objector – From an Israeli rite of passage, to a battle for human rights

Featuring – Atalya Ben-Abba

Written and Directed by Molly Stuart

Produced by, Buried Seed Cinema

A review

The other evening I viewed an inspiring film about a 19 year old Israeli young woman who refused to serve in the Israeli armed forces. Her name is Atalya Ben-Abba.

The film showing was sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace. This film showing didn’t take place in a theater, but in the back yard of a private residence. In the back yard there was a Sukkah built to celebrate the Jewish holidays.

I’m Jewish, but not religious. However, I respect everyone’s decision to worship whatever religion people believe in. However, according to Israeli law, only Jewish people are supposed to be treated as first class citizens in that nation. That law did not apply to Atalya Ben-Abba.

The story of Atalya Ben Abba

This film begins by reporting that all Israeli women and men are required to serve in the military of that country. The film gives the story of why Atalya refused this military service. The Israeli military responded to Atalya’s refusal by placing her in prison for about four months, and then forcing her to do community service.

The film begins by introducing us to Atalya’s family. Her brother received a conscientious objector deferral from the military and this kept him out of prison. The rest of Atalya’s family supported military conscription and encouraged Atalya to serve in the Israeli armed forces.

We then see how Atalya goes on a tour of the occupied West Bank and sees for herself the conditions Palestinians experience every day. Today about 700,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and this accounts for 11% of the total Israeli population. These Israelis live in totally segregated communities where they have many material advantages over their Palestinian neighbors.

As Atalya tours the West Bank she sees Palestinian homes demolished by Israeli bulldozers. According to the film, the reason for this demolition had to do with the fact that Israelis didn’t like the smell of Palestinian cooking. Thinking about that idea, today much of the food Israelis eat comes from traditional Palestinian recipes. Atalya then thinks about the fact that as an Israeli soldier she would be required to defend the demolition of Palestinian homes.

As the film continues, Atalya becomes friendly with several Palestinians and she learns how life is becoming more and more difficult for them because of the Israeli occupation. We might also consider that in the Oslo Accords of the 1990s the Palestinians agreed to recognition of the state of Israel, and the Israeli government agreed to the idea of a Palestinian independent state in the occupied territories.

Rather than follow through with this agreement, Israel has carried out a number of wars against Palestinians, and they have constructed new settlements on land that they agreed would be a Palestinian homeland. The United Nations has condemned Israel for the continued construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

As Atalya becomes friends with many of the Palestinians she meets, she also begins to understand that she must refuse to serve in the Israeli military. She is fully aware that this refusal will land her in prison.

We then see the discussions Atalya has with her family. They argue that if Israel doesn’t defend itself, their opinion is that there would be an annihilation of Jews by Palestinians. They support this position with the argument that the German fascist regime of the Nazis murdered millions of Jews, and that anti-Semitism is an international problem.

However, Atalya had personal experiences with Palestinians and understands that they would like nothing more than to live with peace and dignity alongside Israel. However, because of the occupation, those dreams have not become a reality.

After Atalya served several months in prison she was interviewed by three representatives of the Israeli military. One Israeli officer asked her what her response would be if she witnessed an older woman being robbed and beaten by assailants. Atalya’s response was that the reason why there is a problem in the Occupied Territories is because of Israeli occupation. In other words, the Palestinians are the ones who are routinely robbed and beaten by Israeli soldiers.

The verdict of this tribunal was that Atalya had mental problems that caused her to refuse to serve in the military. This is an old argument. The idea is that the policies of the state of Israel are so obviously necessary, that any Jewish person who opposes it must have mentally deranged issues.   

Atalya reported that she was fortunate because her parents were able to financially support her during her months in prison. Clearly, there are many Israelis who would experience financial hardship because of their refusal to serve in the military.

The struggle against injustice in the world

Atalya and her bother attended the film showing and answered questions. I asked her if she felt that her refusal to serve in the Israeli military supported the human rights struggle that are exploding all over the world.

Atalya felt that this was a good question, but she had not thought about it. Logically she took her stand because of the facts she confronted in the Occupied Territories. Clearly she wanted nothing to do with that occupation.

However, when we look at the history of the world, we see how there has been a long and persistent struggle against injustice. There is a new film out about the life of Harriet Tubman. Tubman was willing to risk horrendous punishment or even death in her attempts to free human beings from slave labor camps. Oftentimes Tubman was alone in her efforts. However, the facts of history show how millions of soldiers served in the Union Amy of the United States where they carried out a sustained war to end chattel slavery.

Then, there was the story of Nelson Mandela and many of his comrades, who served 27 years in prison because of their opposition to the apartheid government of South Africa. There was an international movement that forced the apartheid government to not only release Mandela, but to organize an election where everyone in South Africa had the right to vote. As a result, the former prisoner Nelson Mandela, became the President of South Africa.

When we look at the 71 years of vicious oppression by the state of Israel, we can say clearly that there is one outstanding reason why. Throughout all those years Israel has spent an exorbitant amount of money on it’s military. No nation can afford to spend that percentage of its income on the military. The only reason why Israel has been able to do this is because of sustained political, economic, and military support from the United States government.

Understanding this reality, we can see how the United States abandonment of the Kurds in Syria is relevant to Israel. For several years the Kurds have been supporting the United States military in Iraq and Syria. Then, President Trump abandoned the Kurds in Syria and allowed Turkey to invade that nation. The Turkish government has been oppressing the Kurds for literally hundreds of years.

Speaking of his abandonment of the Kurds, President Trump made the statement: “They have a lot of sand to play with.” We might keep in mind that there was an international depression in the 1930s and today there are literally hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives that one day will have no value. So, will the United States abandon Israel as it has just abandoned the Kurds. Before people think this would be absurd, perhaps it might be useful to review a few facts.

There were Apaches who joined in the United States military campaign against the followers of the Apache leader Geronimo. After Geronimo surrendered, the U.S. military sent the Apache veterans to concentration camps in Florida.

Japanese soldiers served the United States military in the First World War. The United States government sent many of those Japanese veterans to concentration camps during the Second World War.

One thing is certain. This history demonstrates that the United States government will not hesitate to betray people or nations it had been allied with. Either a U.S. abandonment, or the next international depression will be devastating for the state of Israel.

The United States supports Israel for only one reason. No corporation in the world will gain even one penny of profit without a continuous flow of oil. Israel is the most reliable ally of the United States in the region of the world where most of the oil is located.

Clearly no one knows how the events of the future world will unfold. However, Atalya Ben-Abba has made it clear that she is about standing on the side of justice and against the side of tyranny. Today we see millions of workers all over the world who are making this same decision.