By Patricia Martínez Sastre
Jerusalem (EFE).- Jonathan Kadmon, an Israeli reservist and neuroscience professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has refused to rejoin his unit in the ongoing ground offensive against Gaza, arguing that the army is failing to take sufficient measures to prevent civilian deaths.
“I am not naïve. In war, innocent people die. But if you have a moral conscience, you understand that even with many casualties, someone must be held accountable,” Kadmon told EFE in an interview on campus.
A former combat medic who commanded an ambulance unit, he said the Israeli military has lost the balance between operational needs and protecting civilians.
Disillusion after months in Gaza
Kadmon served three months in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, but his doubts grew in March 2024 when Israel broke a unilateral ceasefire, killing more than 400 Palestinians in a single night.
“That was the moment I realized the government was not doing everything to free the hostages, which was the main reason I went to Gaza,” said Kadmon, who previously conducted research at Harvard and Stanford.
Despite Hamas accepting the latest ceasefire proposal in August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided sealing an agreement.
According to an August poll by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), 64.5% of Israelis support a truce tied to hostage release and troop withdrawal.
Support rises to 92% on the left, but even among Netanyahu’s Likud voters, 52% back such a deal.
A more radical army
Military service is compulsory in Israel, and refusal can mean months in prison.
Traditionally seen as “the most moral army in the world,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) now face growing skepticism.
“When people start refusing for moral reasons, the profile of those who remain changes,” Kadmon explained, pointing to a higher proportion of religious extremists among active reservists. Some, he said, believe in “purifying” and reoccupying Gaza.
“Where the IDF used to represent all sectors of society, from liberals and peace activists to conservatives, now it’s clear many of those serving are more right-wing and fundamentalist,” he said.
The ongoing offensive relies heavily on air power, including drones, helicopters, and fighter jets.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, run by Hamas, nearly 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 19,400 children, about 30 minors on average per day.
A joint investigation by +972 Magazine and The Guardian found that 83% of those killed were not linked to armed groups, citing data from a classified Israeli military database.
Civilian toll at the center of refusal
Kadmon described Israel’s strategy of distributing food in militarized zones, where troops later open fire, as “almost sadistic.”
But his central reason for refusal remains the lack of accountability for what the army calls “collateral damage.”
“How many uninvolved civilians are you willing to let become targets?” he asked, using the military jargon that refers to civilian deaths.
For many Israelis, there are no innocent Palestinians left in Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023.
But for Kadmon, civilians not only exist, they are the majority, and the ones suffering most in a war with no end in sight. EFE
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