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Israeli refusenik taunted as ‘Arab lover’ in jail

September 13, 2021 at 8:16 pm

Eran, a 19-year-old Israeli refuser who was taunted in prison as an ‘Arab Lover’ for his opposition to the occupation of Palestine [Refuser Network]

Israeli refusenik Eran described being called an ‘Arab lover’ and threatened with violence for saying he wanted equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

Tel Aviv-born Eran, 19, has spent a total of 64 days over the course of his multiple prison sentences in jail after refusing four times to serve his compulsory military service.

In a statement via the Refuser Network, he said that on arrival for his first sentence at military prison, he was threatened with physical violence by a veteran prisoner after saying he refused to enlist because he didn’t want to cooperate with the occupation of Palestine.

Eran describes how he was known by his third sentence as the ‘left-wing guy’ or the ‘Arab lover’ by the other inmates.

He said: “When I arrived at the jail for my third sentence the veteran prisoners already recognised me. They knew me as the ‘left-wing guy’, the ‘Arab lover’; the weird guy that they can’t exactly figure out.”

READ: ‘I refused to join the Israeli army, it justifies violence and inequality’ 

“Every time a new prisoner came in they rushed to introduce me to him, to see how he would react to me.”

He said prisoners would regularly rush to challenge his political position, saying “If the Arabs will stop using weapons there will be peace but if we hold down our weapons they will kill us”, “If we will give them an inch they will take a mile”, or “If they kill your mother will you still support them?”

Eran went on to call for challenge the narrative fed to young Israelis, which, he says, drags them into a cycle of violence.

He continued: “We need to make sure that every Israeli recognises the reality of what it is to live as a Palestinian in the West Bank under military occupation. We need to make sure that Israel finally puts a stop to the occupation of the Palestinians’ lands and the violation of their basic human rights.”

“I will continue to share my story and my political reflections with as many young Israelis as possible to make sure they know they have a choice.”

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