Just over two months ago, Noam Bahat and Shimri Zamaret were released from an Israeli military prison, where they were confined for nearly two years for refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
Bahat, 21, and Zamaret, 20, were among five Israeli “refuseniks” who declined mandatory conscription into the military at 18, which led them to imprisonment and court martials. The two men shared their story with about 100 people Friday night at Cozmic Pizza, the latest stop on a national tour sponsored by the Refuser Solidarity Network.
Israeli law dictates that men serve three years and women serve two years in the military, and it does not allow people to claim exemption as conscientious objectors, Bahat said.
Both men said they refused military service because of moral objections to the way Israeli soldiers treat Palestinians in the disputed territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, and the physical and emotional toll of the war on Israeli soldiers and their families.

Israel captured the disputed areas in the Six-Day War of 1967 against Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
The UO Cultural Forum and the Committee for Countering Military Recruitment presented the Eugene stop to show the implications the men’s actions could have
for a possible U.S. draft,
according to a press release.
The men said military action was particularly brutal when they refused the draft, describing curfews for Palestinians living in occupied areas that lasted for more than six months. Bahat said Palestinians were not allowed to leave their homes to attend work, school or to socialize during the curfews, except for a few hours once a week to buy food.
But Bahat added that many Palestinians didn’t know when the curfew was lifted and either missed opportunities to leave or ventured into the streets when they were not supposed to.
“It means a lot of stress, a lot of anger,” he said.
Bahat read the testimony of a Palestinian man who inadvertently went to purchase food during a curfew. One of the man’s children died and his other two were wounded after “intense gunfire” from Israeli soldiers hit his vehicle, Bahat said.
“Unfortunately, this testimony is not unique,” Bahat said.
Zamaret said Israeli soldiers are also affected. He told the story of a soldier who saw another Israeli soldier threatening to hit a Palestinian man with his rifle while recording the man’s pleas on his cell phone. Zamaret said soldiers in the territories also sometimes loot and use excessive violence on civilians.
“I couldn’t believe you could see so many awful, terrible things in just three months,” Zamaret said.
Zamaret said such actions cause some soldiers to lose faith in
the military.
“Occupation is a big word and this story illustrates the price both our societies … are paying for this occupation,” Zamaret said. “I’m talking about all those other guys who are coming back scarred, not on their bodies, but on their … souls,” he said.
Bahat said nearly 1,000 Israelis and almost 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in the past four years.
“This is the price both sides are paying for this conflict,” he said.
People from both sides of the conflict must work to peacefully resist the violence, he said. Bahat added that he and Zamaret are part of a “growing movement” of people who refuse to serve because of objections to the occupations, but they are still in the minority.
Zamaret agreed, saying the “most powerful tool” Israeli citizens have is to refuse military service.
He said his experiences in prison were validated by a letter he received from a Palestinian man who said he had formerly been working to organize bombings with the militant group Hamas, but decided to peaceably resist the occupation after hearing about Zamaret’s actions.
“For me, the whole two years was … worth it just for this one letter,” he said.
Bahat said former military occupations show that occupying countries will eventually withdraw. He said the current situation can be resolved if Israel withdraws to its 1967 borders.
“The solution to this conflict is obvious and clear,” he said. “If it has been clear for so long, we must ask ourselves why we are not implementing it.”
Zamaret cited the Israeli pullout from the Lebanon border four
years ago as an example of how leaving disputed areas ends violence. He said that there hasn’t been as much violence in the region since the pullout.
“I think that’s a good example of what we’re trying to accomplish by refusing,” he said.
Zamaret said he is not opposed to all wars, citing World War II as a war worth fighting.
“Like all people in this room, I object to wars, but I’m not a pacifist,” he said. “I do object to this war because I think it’s immoral and unnecessary.”
Zamaret said he and Bahat will not face further prison time, adding that they received a certificate saying they were unfit for service in the military.
“For us, that was kind of a compliment,” he said.
Ibrahim Hamide, a member of the Eugene peace movement and a Palestinian immigrant from Bethlehem who was slated to introduce the pair at a later presentation held in Columbia 150, said the men’s testimonies show that not all Israelis support the occupation.
“It’s an eye-opener for a lot of people,” he said. “They’ve heard one line and one line only for forever.”
He said the men did not show weakness through their actions.
“They’re not traitors,” he said. “They are strong Jews, strong Israelis who would defend (Israel) to the last drop if it was attacked.”
Graduate student Ron Smith, who has relatives living in Israel, said he completely agreed with Bahat and Zamaret’s message. Smith said he has been active in demonstrations in California and Washington state against the occupation.
“The biggest impact was to meet someone who had made the great sacrifice in prison,” he said.
He said it is vital for people
to “understand that occupation doesn’t help Jews.”
However, not everyone agreed with the speakers.
Beryl Bessemer, a student at South Eugene High School who lived in Israel for five years and who has family members living in the disputed territories, agreed that Israelis shouldn’t live in the occupied territories.
Yet Bessemer said withdrawing from disputed territories wouldn’t end the strife because Palestinians want to control all of Israel. She said more attacks occurred after the Israeli army pulled out of the Gaza Strip, adding that Israel wouldn’t exist without the army.
“I understand what they’re saying, but it won’t work,” she said. “It’s so much deeper than that.”

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