On this day, 24 September 2003, a group of 27 pilots in the Israeli air force sent a letter to the head commander refusing to participate in assassination missions in the West Bank and Gaza. A spokesman for the refuseniks stated: “We, veteran pilots and active pilots alike…are opposed to carrying out illegal and immoral attacks, of the type carried out by Israel in the territories… We, who have been educated to love the state of Israel refuse to take part in airforce attacks in civilian population centres. We refuse to continue harming innocent civilians.” Air strikes intended at assassinating individual Palestinians had recently killed dozens of civilians. A military official subsequently threatened to punish the refusers, but it is unclear if the threat was carried out.
Learn more about Israeli opposition to Zionism in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2018/12/16/e17-anti-zionism-in-israel-part-1/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1536630183188793/?type=3