If I Return to Israel, I Will Be Arrested: Anti-Zionist Jews Protest Israeli Military Draft
June 30, 2026
Abraham, a 21-year-old Israeli anti-Zionist draft resister, says he left Israel after refusing compulsory military service and fears he will be arrested if he returns.
He joined hundreds of anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City to protest Israel’s mandatory military draft and its wars across the Middle East.
The demonstration comes as Israel faces mounting internal opposition after authorities intensified efforts to conscript ultra-Orthodox religious students, following a 2024 Israeli Supreme Court ruling ending their long-standing exemption from military service.
”I will be arrested if I return to Israel.”
The growing resistance is no longer coming only from outside Israel.
It is coming from Israelis and Jews who say they will not fight in their name.
The louder Israel tries to silence dissent, the louder that dissent is becoming.
Source: @middleeasteye
#Israel #NewYork #AntiZionist #UltraOrthodox #MilitaryDra
English Script:
Avraham: If I go back to Palestine where they called Israel, they will arrest me.
Journalist: Outside of the Israeli consulate in New York City. Hundreds of anti-Zionist Jews have gathered to protest Israel’s wars in the Middle East, as well as their draft, their military draft that they say infringes on their religious rights. We spoke to 21 year old Avraham, who recently fled to Israel to avoid the military draft.
Avraham: Now, if I go, they will arrest me because I refused to go to the Zionist army. The Torah said that we need to be exiled from Israel. You need to be loyal to any government that we are in. The Same we are loyal citizens in America. We need to be loyal citizens in Palestine. You can’t create their own state, the Jewish state, and call it a Jewish State and do wars and kill people. It is against Judaism. My whole family is living in Palestine. I have a big, big family in Palestine, about 150 of both sides. And I can’t go back. If I go back, they will arrest me. That is not only non-Jews who are attacked or oppressed by the Zionist regime. This regime. It is Jewish people who dare to stand up, to refuse to support. We will never support. Supporting Zionism is a violation of Judaism. The worst example of supporting Zionism is joining the Israeli army. We would never do so. We would stand strong. We are sending our support from New York to our people in Jerusalem or in other cities to stand strong, not to give in and to never extend any support to the Zionist regime, and certainly not to actively be part of the army.
Journalist: This protest outside of the Israeli consulate in New York City comes after weeks of clashes between thousands of protesters and Israeli police over the country’s mandatory military draft. Military service is required for both men and women in Israel, with most men being required to serve three years. Less than 10% of ultra-Orthodox Jews enlist, according to an Israeli parliamentary committee. What are your demands of the Israeli government?
Jewish man: We have one single demand to stop this state entirely. All of this needs to stop because this is a rebellion against God. This is a danger for humanity, including the Jewish people. This has to stop altogether.
