Israel Policy Center: IDF Barring Withdrawal Protesters From Service Via Psychiatric Clause

2006-12-06

IDF "using psychiatric clause to exempt settlers from draft".

Nadav Shragai, Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/ hasen/spages/ 796868.html

The Israel Policy Center filed an administrative petition at the Tel Aviv District Court yesterday against the Israel Defense Forces, demanding access to data regarding the number of teens not conscripted into the army because of their participation in anti-disengagement protests or the disturbances at the illegal outpost of Amona.

The center, which is affiliated with the right wing, says the IDF has ignored its requests for the data - despite its legal obligation to maintain freedom of information and to accede or reject such a request within 30 days.

The data is necessary, the center argues, for research it is undertaking on "very grave" findings suggesting that the army is making inappropriate use of the psychiatric clause "to prevent the conscription of completely healthy 'orange' youth." The reference to the color orange relates to its adoption by the anti-disengagement protesters.

In its petition, the center writes that the psychiatric clause, on whose basis the youth are not being drafted "is being backed by professional opinion" and there are suspicions that they are being stigmatized "on political grounds."

The center requested the following data from the IDF: How many of those not drafted were invited to a special interview? How many were invited to the military psychiatric service for an interview? How many had their medical profile lowered? The data was requested on the basis of male and female categorization, as well as place of residence (inside the Green Line or in the territories). The center also requested the number of teens living in the territories who were not drafted, for reasons of incompatibility, during the years 2001-2006.

Yesterday, the center published five examples of teens that were not drafted.

For example, "B.Y., Jerusalem induction center. Present in Amona, not arrested and did not clash with police. In the interview, he was asked whether he had any problems with Arabs, whether he would be willing to evacuate settlements and whether he would abide by the orders of rabbis. He had an interview with the head of the induction center, the military psychologist and a psychiatrist. The medical board ruled that his medical profile was 21 [the lowest and grounds for dismissal] and that he was incapable of being drafted for medical reasons."

The teen's family paid for a psychiatric evaluation by a senior psychiatrist at one of the hospitals, who determined there was nothing wrong with him. When the teen sought to appeal the medical committee's decision, he was issued an exemption from service.

Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis