Taylor Swift megafan jailed in Israel for refusing to join army

The owner of a popular Taylor Swift parody account has just been released after serving a two month prison term in Israel for refusing to join the occupation’s army.

The refusenik Twitter user, who identified herself only as Na’ama, tweets under the LegitTayUpdates account, apologised to her followers after an absence of two months, and announced she had been incarcerated.

https://twitter.com/LegitTayUpdates/status/1112981292616990720

When asked why, she replied: “For refusing to join the IDF [Israeli Army] lmao.”

One of her last tweets in February was to inform her followers that she was being sent to jail.

https://twitter.com/LegitTayUpdates/status/1091400688859516929

Twitter users flooded to congratulate her on her actions, and media requests began pouring in.

One user tweeted: “You’re a badass for not enlisting in the military. Props to you” and another said: “Kol Hakavod, family. Much respect to you for your courage and determination.”

Although she said she didn’t see it as much of a big deal, one user replied: “As a Palestinian from Gaza, I could tell you it’s a very big deal. You refused to be part of an organization (the IDF) which bombed my home in 2014 and killed my relatives.”

READ: Israel army shoots, wounds Palestinian man in West Bank

Another simply tweeted: “Thank you for this!!! from an Israeli-American”

LegitTayUpdates’ Twitter bio describes her as “pro-Palestinian” and said she intends to use the unexpected publicity to educate people on Palestine.

She continued: “Free Palestine, throw Netanyahu in prison, and donate to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, who actually are confirmed to use at least 86% of their donations on the programs and services they deliver!”

It is a criminal offence to refuse compulsory military service in Israel and refusenik are often jailed. The longest sentence handed down to a female refuser has been five months.