Nearly two weeks after finally being freed from the Israeli military prison Neve Tzedek, 18-year-old conscientious objector Yuval Peleg forcefully called out the Israel Defense Forces in a Monday statement shared by Amnesty International.
"After five times being imprisoned and a total of 130 days spent in military prison for refusing to enlist in the IDF, I have finally been released and exempt from army service. I am incredibly happy to be out of prison," said Peleg, who was released January 6.
Even though Peleg made his objection to compulsory enlistment clear through the refusal process by the conscientious objector network Mesarvot, and to IDF representatives at the recruitment center in Ramat Gan last year, the military initially declared his refusal to be disobedience. Amnesty has advocated for the release of Peleg and other "prisoners of conscience."
The video below was shared by Mesarvot in November, when Peleg was released from his fourth stint behind bars.
Yuval Peleg was released today after 100 days in military prison and is expected to return in the coming days for a fifth term of imprisonment.
Hear his words to @amnesty about his refusal to serve in the IDF: https://t.co/4mZqG8bFOJ pic.twitter.com/jFk1iYqiX1
— Mesarvot מסרבות (@Mesarvot_) November 19, 2025
"It was a difficult experience, and lasted longer than I had hoped," Peleg said Monday, "but I want to thank everyone at Amnesty International for the support—it was incredibly strengthening to know that even though I'm imprisoned there are people all over the world who support my actions and are pushing for my release, and without them I'm not sure how I would have gotten through it."
"As difficult as this was, I do not regret refusing the draft and would do so again," he continued. "The IDF has proven itself to be a despicable, criminal organization, and there is no excuse for joining it. I, and many others, will continue to fight and oppose it as long as is necessary. I would like to remind everyone that while I have finally been freed, there are still two other conscientious objectors in prison currently, and another that might be sent back. I hope they all get released as soon as possible, and support them throughout their incarceration."
"Most importantly, the criminal actions of the IDF and state of Israel have not ceased," Peleg stressed, pointing to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip launched after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack. Since then, Israeli forces have killed at least 71,550 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 171,365, according to local health officials. Global experts warn the true toll is likely far higher.
The IDF's killing has continued despite a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in October. Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry said Monday, Israel has killed 465 Palestinians and injured 1,287, plus 713 bodies have been found beneath the rubble.
Scholars, world leaders, human rights groups—including Amnesty—and other critics like Peleg call the Israeli assault genocide. The conscientious objector noted Monday that "the genocide in Gaza is ongoing despite the facetious 'ceasefire' and the now almost 60-year occupation of the West Bank keeps accelerating, to add to the campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionists since even before 1948."
"This is what truly must be fought against," he said, "and as long as it continues, so will the resistance to it."
Peleg's comments came after Reuters reported Friday that not only are Palestinians in Gaza suffering "a volcano" of psychological trauma, but also Israel's Defense Ministry has recorded a nearly 40% increase in post-traumatic stress disorder among its troops since September 2023, with 60% of the 22,300 people being treated for war wounds experiencing PTSD.
"An Israeli parliamentary committee found in October that 279 soldiers had attempted suicide in the period from January 2024 to July 2025, a sharp increase from previous years," according to the news agency. "The report found that combat soldiers comprised 78% of all suicide cases in Israel in 2024."
The US 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—which offers 24/7, free, and confidential support—can be reached by calling or texting 988, or through chat at 988lifeline.org. For the Veterans Crisis Line, dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255.
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
I continue to find this as shocking as the first time I learned it:
It is absolutely wild that out of the whole cohort, there are only three people who object enough to make a show out of it. I know there are other, quieter ways to get out of service that some people go for. Like having yourself declared unfit somehow. (I just read that Haredi are no longer exempted since 2024--- at least the men.)
There are 169,500 active and 465,000 reserve IDFs as of 2023 according to wikipedia. 634,500 people accept and three reject. Difficult to imagine the kind of society that is able to produce so much conformity. Especially when you consider that this isn't some sort of symbolic peace-time national service where you can join under the impression that you won't be in danger or really have to hurt anybody. Whoever joins the IDF, at any time, has done so knowing that there is a high chance of being involved in an actual military conflict.
And then there is the effect of having such a high penetration of military culture in day to day culture. All adults having gone through training and served some role in the violent occupation. Everyone having blood on their hands. It's like getting jumped in to a gang. It is mutually assured destruction if the project itself is illegitimate. It's hard to imagine the pressure of that. You would know in your guts that israel can't be a violent criminal fascist entity because it would implicate literally everyone you have ever loved.
They would rather end their own lives than stand up against the evil IDF. I remember a while ago some stuff was posted from a solider who had died by suicide and it was not straightforwardly critical of the IDF in the way that someone here might be. Like he was upset about having lost friends in battle, not about whatever crimes he and his friends had committed. IIRC that article also mentioned that if you die by suicide while in service, you don't get certain rights to do with burial and your family don't get benefits paid. It is officially stigmatized. So even by going that way, you are still bringing dishonor and difficulty on your family. Although probably less than a prolonged and public conflict with the state in the way these three people have chosen to undergo.
I don't really have a point I just find it all amazing. Am I just a hyper individualistic minded westerner to find this level of obedience mystifying? Or is this as anomalous to humanity as it appears?
Other sources have indicated it’s more than 3 people objecting. An article linked in the one above mentions a group of ~200 high school students who are refusing to serve. I saw an interview with a different objector before she went to prison for it. She indicated that she’s part of a group refusing to serve that’s around 50-60 members.
We’re still talking about a country of 10 million, many of whom didn’t question serving in the IDF at all.
I looked and I can't find. Sources?
Here is the article linked in this post where I got the 200 high schoolers from. Here is the interview I watched. I saw it a few weeks ago so I might be off with my 50-60 number.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
One of my replies elsewhere feels particularly applicable here:
I don’t doubt that “nurture” plays a role in who you become as a person, but there’s nobody in my family I can point to and say they’ve had a truly formative effect on my politics from a stance of agreement. They told me that I should care about the wellbeing of other people, sure, but it’s not like anyone actually demonstrated that in a meaningful way.
I was thinking about this earlier too, but never posted the reply - I’m curious what percentage of the suicides come from the pain of realizing that it’s wrong to murder babies vs trauma that’s not driven by the actions they took.
I don't know if I understand? Here's how I read: your personal ethics/politics are innate rather than learned from your family --> social context plays a minimal role in people's choices about how they react to mandatory military service. Soo what is the etiology of this mass acceptance of participation in acts that are both risky to oneself and violent?
Israel is a world leader in surveillance and while they aren't the primary targets of the most reckless experiments in de humanization, I bet their own people are also subject. What are the chances that someone has covert access to these people's communications' records and that those are analyzed. I mean to say that while we will probably not ever know the answer, I speculate that someone out there has an idea of it.
I think having a traumatized population is part of the benefit of mandatory IDF service. They would probably prefer not to push so many all the way to the edge but overall it is good for fascism.
Sorry - that wasn’t clear - there’s plenty of ways I think my upbringing has impacted who I am and that there are ways I’m still fighting to break out of that mould. I don’t know what exactly helped me escape it here. Maybe it had more impact than I recognize and I just don’t realize it. I don’t think my personal ethics/politics were entirely innate, I think I’ve grown from a place that was more heavily influenced from my upbringing but believing (perhaps incorrectly) that the growth has largely come just from seeing the results of my upbringing in action.
I’m struggling to make sense of how someone can find themselves a willing participant in genocide and perhaps hoping that there’s an innate part of me that would be sensible enough to not end up there that might not be real. I struggle with knowing that I can/should be doing more than I do, while also not feeling like I actually have the spoons for it.
Sorry, I still don't think this is really an answer.
E: to replace ableism