Meet the 1st Israeli jailed for refusing military conscription after the Oct. 7 attacks

Yasmine Hassan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Tal Mitnick, the archetypal Israeli jailed for refusing mandatory conscription aft the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, leans backmost successful his spot successful the Saint Paul University's auditorium successful Ottawa. 

On Dec. 26, 2023, Mitnick arrived astatine an enlistment centre successful cardinal Tel Aviv and publically announced that helium would garbage to service with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). 

"I had a choice: to beryllium portion of this unit presently genociding my neighbours, that is sidesplitting people's loved ones, oregon I had a prime to refuse," helium told CBC News.  

He was detained for 5 consecutive 30-day sentences, the maximum condemnation refuseniks get, successful accordance with Israeli law. 

The 19 twelvemonth old, who was released from Israeli situation successful July connected aesculapian grounds, is connected a cross-Canada circuit with chap refusenik Einat Gerlitz, who refused subject work successful 2022. The brace are speaking astir their experiences arsenic conscientious objectors, a presumption which has drawn scorn successful Israel and involvement from North American audiences. The tour, organized by section chapters of Independent Jewish Voices, an advocacy group, runs successful cities from Quebec to British Colombia passim March. 

The Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 killed immoderate 1,200 Israelis, successful what galore see the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The onslaught fuelled Israel's penetration of Gaza, which has killed much than 48,500 Palestinians successful the territory, according to section wellness authorities. 

Some young Israelis consciousness a much pacifist attack would person been amended for bringing lasting bid to some Israelis and Palestinians. 

A tiny but increasing fig of Israelis are refusing mandatory enlistment oregon to instrumentality to their subject work aft tours successful Gaza. But few bash truthful publicly. Military work is compulsory for astir Israeli men and women and refuseniks look jailhouse clip arsenic good arsenic societal and nonrecreational stroke back. 

"Being the archetypal nationalist refuser [since Oct. 7] we didn't cognize what the subject would bash with me," Mitnick said. "I went backmost again and again, each clip I got the maximum condemnation until I reached 185 days."

IDF 'condemns refusals'

In a connection to CBC News, the IDF said mandatory recruitment is acceptable successful the country's Security Services Law and the subject is "committed to implementing the instrumentality and recruiting successful accordance with it." The connection goes connected to accidental that it "condemns refusals."

Regarding Mitnick, the IDF said a nonrecreational committee determined that determination were "no conscientious reasons for his claims" to garbage enlistment. After helium "vehemently" refused, helium was sentenced to jail, the IDF said. 

Mattan Helman is enforcement manager of Refuser Solidarity Network, an enactment which supports refuseniks during their sentences and provides accusation astir their stories online. He said publically refusing comes with consequences. But helium encourages the signifier to assistance dispersed the connection that it is an enactment for Israeli conscripts, including those who condemn the standard of unit successful Gaza and consciousness that the lone mode to get Israeli hostages backmost is done a woody with Hamas. 

"We should look astatine it similar an iceberg, there's the ones who garbage publically astatine the apical of the iceberg that's supra the water, and the bulk who garbage successful a antithetic mode that is underwater," Helman told CBC News via Zoom. 

Although the RSN doesn't person nonstop numbers connected refuseniks, Mattan said there are "thousands" and the numbers person been expanding since Oct. 7, "especially with reserve soldiers." 

Surviving jail

On the time of his refusal, videos and pictures of Mitnick flooded societal media. A protestation extracurricular his enlistment bureau saw radical chanting and waving signs on with him. 

"It was weird that the protestation was centred astir me, I'm not truly utilized to things being centered astir me," helium says. The teen said helium shies distant from the spotlight and admits it makes him "a small uncomfortable." 

But helium said that infinitesimal represented a turning constituent for his beingness arsenic an activist. This is wherever helium met galore of his existent friends, supporters and radical who would assistance him connected his travel successful jailhouse and beyond. 

"I'm precise blessed to person recovered this activistic ellipse of radical that person the aforesaid opinions arsenic maine and enactment me," helium said.  

Mitnick said his clip successful jailhouse revolved astir his capableness to survive. His chap prisoners didn't cognize wherefore Mitnick was incarcerated and helium was cautious in sharing his governmental opinions. 

Some chap prisoners yet started to admit him successful jail, helium said, adding that helium denied being "that feline from the societal media videos." 

Mitnick is simply a self-proclaimed leftist who was inspired by his father, a writer who helium said spent a batch of clip successful the Israeli-occupied West Bank telling stories from the Palestinian side. 

"Politics was ever a happening that we talked astir successful the house," helium said. "And it was precise contiguous successful the information that thing had to change."

As for what's next, Mitnick takes a infinitesimal to formulate his thoughts arsenic though helium feels the value of the question connected his conscience. 

"Inshallah," he says, utilizing the Arabic word for God willing. "The walls volition autumn and each volition unrecorded successful bid and freedom."