Since 2012, Frauen für den Frieden Schweiz (Women for Peace Switzerland) has been supporting the feminist and antimilitarist organization New Profile, which has been active in Israeli society for over 20 years. New Profile believes that militarism is a threat to civil and democratic values, is an obstacle on the road to peace and to ending the Israeli occupation, and that it encourages human rights violations against Palestinians and other people.
The organization supports those resisting the army—especially conscientious objectors, for whom conditions are particularly difficult in Israel. “People who want to avoid military service without attracting attention are often able to do this with relative ease. People who make their refusal into a public act (especially conscientious objectors), on the other hand, are severely mistreated and often imprisoned,” establishes a report by New Profile.
In Israel, serving in the army (the Israel Defense Forces or IDF) is considered a duty, a necessity and an opportunity, as the Israeli military has been publicly portraying itself as a progressive body due to the range of deployment opportunities it offers for women. The same applies to the involvement of LGBTQ people. According to New Profile, the reality is much more problematic. The culture remains predominantly aggressive and masculine.
New Profile also criticizes the presence of the IDF in the social and civilian spheres. Soldiers are present on the streets, in universities, train stations and shopping centres, and the army is omnipresent in the media and commercial advertisements. New Profile also finds the IDF’s interaction with schools particularly disturbing. For example, schoolchildren between the 10th and 12th grades would be sent on an experiential trip where they would live in the military base, learn to shoot, and be commanded by soldiers to simulate the experience of basic training. This makes recruitment a slow and constant process that begins in preschool and makes the military a normality that remains present later in life.
Raising awareness via social media, publications, and, if possible, direct contact (e.g. at schools) is, therefore, an important concern of New Profile. In addition, the organization offers opportunities for those affected to learn with educators and therapists and to critically engage with this reality. Through this exchange, young people should get to know a different perspective on militarism.
