Natan Blanc is currently serving his tenth term in an Israeli military prison for refusing to be drafted into the Israeli Army, for reasons of conscience.
Amnesty International, War Resisters International, Yesh Gvul, New Profile, Gush Shalom, and Connection e.V. have initiated a petition calling for his release. Presently the petition is in English and German. Please sign and circulate
English version:
▻http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/immediately-and-unconditionally-release-conscientious-objector-natan-blanc-f
German version:
▻http://www.change.org/de/Petitionen/kriegsdienstverweigerer-natan-blanc-muss-unverz%C3%BCglich-und-bedingungslos
If you are sending this to other people, here are some more details:
Background:
Natan Blanc, a 20-year old from Haifa, is currently serving his tenth term in an Israeli military prison for refusing to be drafted into the Israeli Army, for reasons of conscience. He was due to be inducted into the army on November 19, 2012, and was sentenced to 10 days in prison. Each time he was released from prison, he reported back to the induction center, and was sent back to prison. This has happened ten times, for a total of 178 days in prison. His current term, of 28 days, began on May 12, 2013.
You can read more about it in the Guardian:
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/13/israel-jail-conscientious-objector-natan-blanc
or on the website: ▻http://freenatanblanc.wordpress.com
Natan explained that he is refusing to serve because he feels that the current situation, in which millions of Palestinians under occupation are denied elementary democratic rights over many years, is immoral. He believes that the Israel Defence Forces play a major role in preserving this situation, and says that his conscience does not allow him to be part of it.
As far as we know, Natan is the first conscientious objector in the history of Israel who has been sentenced to ten consecutive terms in prison for the same offence.
