During the Aug. 15 streamed news conference, three active duty U.S. military members, a veteran of the [IOF] and a current [Jewish] Conscientious Objector explained why they decided to stop participating in war. While each of the speakers had their own story, all urged U.S. military members to use the “Appeal for Redress V2” to protest their rôle as accomplices to the war crimes in Gaza.

The veteran, who lost a sister in a suicide bombing, and a Palestinian, who was a participant in the 1987 Intifada and has lost 80 family members in Gaza, together are in Combatants for Peace, an anti-war organization encouraging Conscientious Objection within the [IOF].

Among the [Jewish] resisters was Sofia Or, who was released from prison in June after serving 85 days as a C.O. Or said that during that time she learned the power of saying “No” to occupation. “Support for Israel can never lead to anything good,” she added.

U.S. resister Larry Herbert stood in front of the U.S. Capitol refusing to eat “while the children in Gaza starve.” Herbert said that Aaron Bushnell’s action is what made him decide to take this public position. Later he met military veterans from the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. He believes he is following in their footsteps.

Joy Metzler, a second lieutenant who went to the military academy believing that the U.S. represented freedom and liberty, is now a C.O. She called on “all active duty service people to break with the military and sign the Appeal for Redress.”