{"id":4077,"date":"2012-10-27T22:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-27T20:05:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-12-14T19:00:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T17:00:29","slug":"epalestine-im-omar-saad-and-i-will-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/2012\/10\/epalestine-im-omar-saad-and-i-will-not\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Omar Saad and I will not be a soldier in your army"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"left\">\n<table align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/ePalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/omar-1.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/ePalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/omar-1.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-4078\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/434809649908445\/?ref=ts&amp;fref=ts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">October 27, 2012<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>I\u2019m Omar Saad and I will not be a soldier in your army&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Omar Saad, a young (Druze) Palestinian musician from the Galilee village of al-Mughar has  received a summon to the Israeli enlistment army. The Druze citizens of Israel are forced to  enlist in the Israeli military, since 1956, when conscription law applied to Druze men (not to  other Palestinians). Recent studies show that two thirds of Druze youth would not enlist in the  Israeli military if given the choice, read more here.&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Omar is one of the many Druze youth who refuse to serve in the Israeli military, in his letter  below (which I translated from Arabic), he says it all:&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>To the Israeli Prime Minister, To the \u201cDefense Minister\u201d,&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>Subject: refusal to appear for compulsory military recruitment.&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>I\u2019m the undersigned, Omar Zahr Eldin Mohammad Saad from the village of Mughar \u2013  Galilee, have received a notice to appear in the military recruitment offices on  31.10.2012 to conduct tests according to the conscription law imposed on the Druze  community. I would like to make the following points:&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>I refuse to appear for tests, because I oppose the law of conscription imposed on my  Druze community. I refuse because I am a man of peace and I hate all forms of  violence, and the military institution represents for me the peak of physical and  psychological violence.&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>Since I received the notice to appear for tests, my life has changed, I became more  nervous, my thoughts were distracted, I remembered thousands of cruel images, and I  couldn\u2019t imagine myself wearing military uniform and participating in the suppression  of my Palestinian people or fighting my Arab brothers. I oppose the recruitment to the  Israeli military and any other military for conscience and nationalistic reasons. I hate  the injustice and oppose the occupation; I hate intolerance and restriction of  freedoms. I hate those who detain children, the elderly and women.&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>I am a musician, I play the Viola , I have played in many places, I have musician friends  from Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Shfa\u2019amr, Eilabun, Rome,  Athens, Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Oslo, and we all play for freedom, humanity and  peace, our weapon is the music and we shall not have any other weapon. I am from a  community that was unjustly treated by an unjust law, how can we fight our relatives  in Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon? How can I hold arms against my brothers  and people in Palestine? How can I be a soldier standing at Qalandia checkpoint or  any other checkpoint, after I experienced the injustices at these checkpoints?&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>How can I prevent someone from Ramallah to visit his city, Jerusalem? How can I  guard the apartheid wall? How can I be a jailer to my own people while I know that the  majority of prisoners are freedom prisoners and seekers of rights and freedom?&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>I play for joy, for freedom, for a just peace based on halting settlements, the end of the  occupation in Palestine, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with  Jerusalem its capital, the release of all prisoners in prisons and the return of displaced  refugees to their homes.&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>Many of the youth from my community have done the compulsory service in the army,  what have we received? Discrimination in all areas, our villages are the poorest, our  lands were confiscated, there are no master plans, and no industrial zones.  Percentages of university graduates in our villages of the lowest in the region, the  unemployment rates in our villages are the highest. This mandatory law has kept us  away from our Arab connection.&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>This year, I will finish high school, and I seek to complete my university education. I\u2019m  sure you will try to make me concede my human ambition, but I announce it loudly:&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>I, Omar Zahr Eldin Mohammad Saad, will not be the fuel to the fire of your war, and will  not be a soldier in your army .&nbsp; <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em>Signature: Omar Saad<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong><em><br \/>\n  <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><a href=\"http:\/\/abirkopty.wordpress.com\/2012\/10\/27\/i-omar-saad-will-not-be-a-soldier-in-your-army\/\"><span style=\"color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\">  <span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><u>http:\/\/abirkopty.wordpress.com\/2012\/10\/27\/i-omar-saad-will-not-be-a-soldier-in-your-army\/<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">ePalestine Blog:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.epalestine.com\/\"><span style=\"color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><u>http:\/\/www.epalestine.com<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Everything about this list:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><a href=\"http:\/\/lists.riseup.net\/www\/info\/epalestine\"><span style=\"color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">  <u>http:\/\/lists.riseup.net\/www\/info\/epalestine<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">To unsubscribe, send mail to:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">epalestine-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">To subscribe, send mail to:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">epalestine-subscribe@lists.riseup.net<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/434809649908445\/?ref=ts&amp;fref=ts October 27, 2012 I\u2019m Omar Saad and I will not be a soldier in your army&nbsp;&nbsp; Omar Saad, a young (Druze) Palestinian musician from the Galilee village of al-Mughar has received a summon to the Israeli enlistment army. The Druze citizens of Israel are forced to enlist in the Israeli military, since 1956, when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[96,880,831,235,881,882],"ppma_author":[936],"class_list":["post-4077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-96","tag-al-mughar","tag-druze","tag-galilee","tag-refuse-to-serve","tag-soldier"],"authors":[{"term_id":936,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sambahour","display_name":"Sam Bahour","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bca109c333bf6d8ae807746dd512adde46265d37c923f6cd0fc4aab437f8e9aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4077"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}