In early 2002, a group of reserve officers and soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces issued a public statement declaring that, although they were willing to serve in Israel's defense, they would no longer participate in the "War of the Settlements," which they felt aimed only to perpetuate Israel's control over the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories. Contending that the Occupation was corrupting Israeli society, they announced their refusal to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to "dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people."

The "Combatants' Letter" sent political shock waves throughout Israel and intensified the national debate over the Occupation. On the Objection Front eatures interviews with the six founding members of the Courage to Refuse organization, which today includes over 600 "refuseniks," who movingly recount their personal histories, their experience of brutality and torture in the Occupied Territories and at checkpoints, the often agonizing moral dilemmas that led them to their difficult decision, and how they see their refusal not so much as a political act, but as a stand for human rights and basic moral values.

In a nation that is primarily dependent on two things-its military and moral strength-the actions of these members of armored corps, paratroops, and other elite IDF units were met with harsh government response, including jail sentences, and passionate public emotions. The film shows rallies in support of the Courage to Refuse members, which are countered by right-wing protests denouncing them as traitors and cowards. The stories of the Courage to Refuse members are supplemented by interviews with their wives, parents, and other family members.

On the Objection Front chronicles this explosive new controversy that goes to the very soul of contemporary Israeli society, and in-so-doing raises crucial questions - about civil disobedience; about personal ethics, morality, and patriotism - for all of us.

To learn more or to purchase this film, visit First Run Icarus Films.

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Spotlight Related Websites:
On the Objection Front's official site
Declaration of Israeli Reservists
Jewish Virtual Library - Refuseniks
Courage to Refuse - Combatant's Letter