RAMALLAH, West Bank — Kamal Zeidan is one of an apparently growing number of Druze youth in Israel rejecting forced service in the country's military. The 18-year-old served brief sentences twice in April for refusing conscription, and he fully expects to be summoned for a third court appearance soon.
Zeidan is a member of the Druze ethno-religious minority in Beit Jann, a town in Galilee in northern Israel. When his first conscription notice arrived April 8, he headed to Tel Aviv a week later to give notice that he was refusing to enlist. He cited "national reasons," as he considers himself a Palestinian Arab. He was ordered to spend five days in Atlit military prison before being released April 19. When he refused a second time, the military court of the conscription office affiliated with the Israeli army in Tel Aviv then sentenced him April 28 to seven more days.
Zeidan’s father, activist lawyer Yamen Zeidan, told Al-Monitor his son was put in solitary confinement during his first stint in prison because he refused to salute a prison officer, stating, "I am not a soldier, and I will not be one. I ask you to treat me like a detainee, not a soldier.”
For Muslim and Christian Arabs in Israel, enlisting is optional. But Druze men must serve unless they are exempted for certain reasons — for example, if they suffer proven psychological harm from serving, have medical issues or feel service would violate their religious dedication.
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