Hiller, Ruth

Hiller, Ruth

Ruth Hiller

1 March 2003Feature

Israeli women who object to military service find themselves marginalised by both "normal" society and within the resistance movement. Ruth Hiller and Sergeiy Sandler report on a New Profile initiative to challenge the influence of dominant gender constructs within the activist community.

It is a little known fact that Israel is the only country with mandatory conscription for women. This makes the draft resistance of Israeli women, which is undoubtedly a major component of the entire resistance movement, into a unique phenomenon.

As the total numbers of draft resisters rise, the numbers of young women requesting exemption from military service on grounds of conscience also continue to remain very high.

Hidden resistance

Female conscripts are traditionally…

1 June 2002Feature

Ruth Hiller talks about her experience of working with groups that challenge two of Israeli society's deep foundations: militarism and patriarchy.

My son Yinnon Hiller is the first young Israeli to appeal to the Israeli High Court for his human right not to serve in the military on the grounds of his pacifist beliefs and he is one of a fast-growing group of Israeli conscientious objectors.

At a hearing held in February 2002, the panel of judges decreed a second court injunction in favour of Yinnon. The first hearing, held six months earlier, ordered the state to present valid reasons why the military did not accept Yinnon's…

1 June 2001Feature

What about the people whose lives are turned upside down when they decide that, yes, they will support their friends or family in their objection to military service. Ruth Hiller describes her experience as a mother of a CO and as a feminist activist.

Just three years ago my son Yinnon approached me and told me that he could not serve in the military on moral grounds. He said he knew with growing certainty that pacifism was his ideal. He was sixteen years old.

The soul-searching that followed this declaration was not just my son's. It became mine as well, and that of the entire family. The process was deep and often painful. It forced us to question our core values, demanding a re-evaluation of ourselves as parents, siblings, as…