AN INTELLECTUAL REBELLION, AS OPPOSED TO JENNA & BARBARA

Benjamin Netanyahu's nephew is refusing to be drafted into the IDF.

JERUSALEM - Ordered to report to court in uniform, Yonatan Ben-Artzi instead showed up in blue jeans and a T-shirt — another act of defiance against the military he refuses to serve in.

The 20-year-old pacifist, a relative of one of Israel's top hawks, is one of 16 young Israelis refusing to be drafted.

It's a small rebellion, but one the military is trying to squash by court-martialing conscientious objectors and jailing many of more than 500 reserve soldiers refusing to serve in Palestinian areas.

snip

Ben-Artzi believes militaries fight avoidable battles "motivated by the erratic decisions of some government or general with nothing rational behind it."

Israel's fight with the Palestinians is in vain, he says, and though Israel cannot realistically do away with its army, Ben-Artzi believes it could make do without mandatory conscription.

One of the events shaping his views was a visit at age 14 to a cemetery in Verdun, France, where more than 300,000 people were killed during the bloodiest battle of World War I. "You see the graves and you know those people thought they did something useful. Then years later people say it was stupid and could have been avoided," Ben-Artzi said.

(Some of the other paragraphs in the article go over, with fawning praise, the pride and tradition of the Israeli military. It's "goggles on" territory, I assure you)

Apparently he could face up to three years in prison for this, yikes.

On the other hand, am I being unfair to Jenna and Barbara for the nature of their personal rebellions? I mean, they're demonstrating -- even acting -- in support of their cause: the liberation of Jack Daniels from his glass prison.