This is the recording of our Draft Counseling 101 training at #JoyMennoniteChurch in #OKC
The presenters were myself and @ehasbrouck .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmNAUz6tHmg
Also, here is a page with links and resources: https://draftcounseling.org/dc101.htm
#MilitaryConscription #Draft #MilitaryDraft #Peace #ConscientiousObjection #AntiWar #NoWar #USA #USMilitary #PeaceEducation
Is it true that only religious people who are part of traditional peace churches, are eligible to exempted from a #USMilitary draft on the grounds of #ConscientiousObjection ?
Also what about non-Christians, including Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc.?
The good news is that current US law recognizes that religious faith (or even affiliation with a traditional peace church) is not required to be recognized as a CO.
Watch this video to learn more, and also to learn about an upcoming training opportunity for #DraftCounselors.
#MilitaryDraft #Conscription #ConscientiousObjection #Conscience #Peace #ConscientiousObjector #Mazeldon
A message about the upcoming #DraftCounseling101 training that is happening on Sunday, February 8th, 1-3 pm Central at Joy Mennonite Church in #OKC and online.
#Draft
#Conscription
#MilitaryConscription #ConscientiousObjection
#MilitaryLaw
#Mennonite #Peace #Oklahoma
Faces of evil: In Utah, Pam Bondi put a stop to a surgeon’s vaccine fraud trial — and ignited nationwide hope for more ‘medical freedom’ pardons
https://www.propublica.org/article/pam-bondi-fake-covid-vaccine-cards-kirk-moore
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/12/17/pam-bondi-drops-utah-surgeons
A Utah surgeon’s victory in a vaccine fraud case has encouraged other “medical freedom” advocates to consider seeking leniency for similar charges. “This undermines every layer of the system that protects us from infectious disease,” an expert said.
https://jewishcoproject.org/2025/08/13/history-1989-statement-by-south-african-jewish-cos/
Sharing this important snapshot of Jewish history, a statement signed by 23 South African Jewish conscientious objectors during the days of apartheid.
Excerpt: NATIONAL JEWISH CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS STATEMENT.
Without coercion, influence, and of our own free will and conscience; we, individual members of the Jewish community, have adopted the following stance:
As Jews, members of a people who possess a religious tradition of social justice and who have endured a history of oppression, we have resolved not to serve in the South African Defence Force. South African society is founded on a system of racial inequality and discrimination, rejected by the majority of its people. The SADF plays a role in maintaining the universally condemned system of apartheid. We regard the system of apartheid as working against the interests of the people of South Africa and in obstructing peaceful development in the region. The SADF’s ongoing destabilisation of the Frontline states, its role in South Africa’s black townships and the general militarisation of South African society are also particularly worrying to us. Our opposition to being conscripted into the SADF is based on our Jewish identity which consists of religious, historical, and cultural elements. Jewish sensitivity and consciousness, born out of oppression in the form of ghettos, pogroms, inquisitions, expulsions and the unique suffering of the holocaust; when combined with our religious and traditional longing for a just society, demand the active pursuit of peace and the elimination of all forms of injustice and racism.
“One who has the opportunity to protest against evil and remains indifferent is deemed culpable by G-d“
(Shmot Rabba 1:2)
We see our objection to serving in the SADF as an expression of our Jewish faith and heritage, and as loyal to the majority of South Africans. We wish to make a constructive and peaceful contribution to South Africa’s future in the interests of all its people.
There are very limited options open to those opposed to conscription. We therefore call for alternatives to be made
available. We believe that non-punitive, constructive community service provides such a concrete alternative to military service. In this way, national service will become beneficial to the entire South African community.
We stand in solidarity with Jewish objectors Dave Bruce and Saul Batzofin and other imprisoned conscientious objectors and call for their immediate release.
Signed by 33 Jewish conscientious objectors, in Johannesburg and
in Cape Town. 21 September 1989.
#ConscientiousObjection #Judaism #SouthAfrica #Apartheid #Mazeldon #Peace #Shalom #ShalomSalaam #Consciption #Draft #MilitaryDraft
Why soldiers can’t claim #ConscientiousObjection if ordered to suppress protests
Published: June 30, 2020
"Despite feeling conflicted, National Guardsmen who felt the mission in Lafayette Park violated their personal values and moral code could not have refused to follow the president’s order by claiming conscientious objector status. People with religious or moral objections to war may avoid enlisting as conscientious objectors, and those who experience religious or personal transformations after joining the armed forces may be honorably discharged as conscientious objectors if they request.
"But military regulations give members little ability to disobey lawful orders on the grounds of conscience."
I'm presenting at this seminar (which is also my capstone project for the certificate program in Unbound #Judaism - from the folks at #JudaismUnbound
The program is free and you can participate via Zoom (thanks to The #SpinozaHavurah), in-person in Oklahoma City (thanks to Joy #Mennonite Church) or via recording.
#ConscientiousObjection #CO #Peace #ShalomSalaam #Judaism #Mazeldon #JewishPeace #PeaceActivism #MilitaryLaw #JewishHistory
They do exist, but they are a tiny minority compared to those who "just obey orders"
#FreePalestine #Gaza #Israel #IDF #Genocide #ConscientiousObjection #WarCrimes
Powerful piece written by one of my military law clients (recently discharged from the USAF on the grounds of conscientious objection), Joy Metzler
#Peace #ShalomSalaam #Palestine #Gaza #Israel #ConscientiousObjection #USAF
🇺🇲 Inexorable rush to dictatorship: Sotomayor Rips SCOTUS for Causing Total Chaos in 2SLGBTQIA+ Books Case
https://newrepublic.com/post/197366/supreme-court-sonia-sotomayor-lgbt-books-chaos-censorship
* U.S. Supreme Court enabling censorship
SCOTUS ruling on 2SLGBTQIA+ books gives religious parents more say over what students learn
https://19thnews.org/2025/06/supreme-court-decision-children-books-lgbtq-censorship/
* affirms parents’ rights to opt children out of materials that conflict w. religious belief
🇺🇲 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 #Christofascism #ConscientiousObjection #transgenocide
🏳️⚧️ #TransLivesMatter #socialism
https://mastodon.social/@persagen/114186381298087870
We as Soldiers give an oath to the Constitution against ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC that includes a power crazed President! 😡 He is the insurrectionist continuously violating the Constitution and his oath of office! He is spitting in the face of the law, HE IS THE DOMESTIC ENEMY WITHIN and now he is attacking Americans with our own Military! 😪😪😡😡
#America #WTF #Military #Orders #Constitution #Seriously #ConscientiousObjection
http://youtube.com/post/UgkxAHxH6MR6EUxrqTkrCpMgCAKn4iiKfVZt?si=cTjgJtlYqthXRPXv
I'm sharing this event that is happening on facebook (I'm one of the panelists), but I'm hoping there will be a recording available afterwards that can be shared on other platforms:
🎖️🗣️ When Orders Cross the Line: A Panel on Conscientious Objection & Unlawful Orders
📅 Thursday, May 22nd | 🕖 7:00 PM EST
📍 Livestreamed on the Military & Veterans Women’s Coalition Facebook Page
What happens when following orders means violating your conscience — or the law?
Join us for a powerful live panel discussion hosted by the Military & Veterans Women’s Coalition that explores what service members can do when they are faced with an unlawful or unethical order.
🎤 Hear directly from former service members, Joy Metzler and Juan Betancourt, who became Conscientious Objectors (COs) as they share their personal stories, the difficult choices they faced, and the real-life consequences of standing their ground.
⚖️ Our expert military attorney, James Branum, will break down:
What qualifies as an unlawful order
What protections CO status provides under military law
How to legally and ethically navigate the objection process
What due process rights exist for those who refuse to comply
This is a must-watch event for:
✔️ Active duty service members
✔️ Veterans
✔️ Military families
✔️ Advocates and allies concerned with ethics, justice, and accountability in the armed forces
📺 How to Watch:
Tune in live on Thursday, May 22 at 7pm EST on the Military & Veterans Women’s Coalition Facebook Page — no registration required.
🔁 Please share this event with your networks. Awareness = protection
#ConscientiousObjection #MilitaryLaw #USMilitary #InternationalLaw #ResistFascism
'When our grandchildren ask what we did during the genocide, I’ll say I refused'
Ella Keidar Greenberg, a transgender refusenik, explains why prison is a small price to pay in the struggle against Israeli occupation and patriarchy.
...
Does your refusal also have a queer or trans aspect to it?
The easiest connection to make is that the systems we fight against are the same. As trans people, we challenge the same rigid, patriarchal, binary system of roles that demands we serve — these structures of men and women, fathers and mothers, that produce another generation of soldiers and workers. We disrupt that system, which is why we scare the regime so much, and are such an easy scapegoat that they keep returning to.
https://www.972mag.com/ella-keidar-greenberg-israeli-military-refusal/
#Meanwhile...
The #MicrosoftStore is #BusilyRecommending #Stuff I've #AlreadyGot... That #ITKnows I've #AlreadyGot; but #IT #RecommendsIT #Anyway...
#WhatsThatAllAbout...?!
#BTW: Is there a #SingleMovie with #MattDamon in that you wouldn't #Prefer to see #MarkWahlberg in... They're #MoreOrLess #TheSamePersons...? But #MarkWahlberg is #Better...
#TheUsual #ConscientiousObjection to #TeenyTinyTomCruise was #OnlyLifted for #Magnolia because #HisCharacter was #SoThoroughlyLoathsome he seemed #Made for #TheRôle... #Shame about all the #TaxFraud, aye...
#IT's #OnlyTheMovies...
🧙🍿🤖🐺🤖🍿🧙 | 🍿🦹🍿🦄🍿🦹🍿
I'm very proud of my client, Lt. Joy Metzler, who appeared on Democracy Now! today.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/3/4/aaron_bushnell
#Gaza #ConscientiousObjector #ConscientiousObjection #Palestine #Peace #ShalomSalaam
