With echoes of peace groups during the US wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the growing movement of military veterans has been using social media and demonstrations to protest against their government’s arming of Israel.
‘I realized we’re such hypocrites’: how growing numbers of US veterans were moved to protest over Gaza
Here's one report --
". . .In New York in September, former captain Rebecca Roberts, 30, attended a protest against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN. Roberts saw the army as a way to impress her conservative father and get an education and enlisted at 17 on a programme that exchanges eight years of military service for a university scholarship. She became one of the first female combat-trained infantry soldiers, but found the beliefs she grew up with began to wane.
“I realised we’re such hypocrites,” says Roberts. “We’re the bad guy. We’re such bullies.”
She moved to the National Guard, ending up in recruitment. Watching young recruits come in on what she calls “the poverty draft”, was a tipping point for her. They were arriving from the same disadvantaged part of New Jersey that she came from, areas targeted by recruiters.
“I would have to go talk to the new recruits. We give them this speech, like, ‘Thank you for making a sacrifice for your country. Your family is going to be so proud. You’re defending democracy, freedom.’ It just got too weird.” Roberts resigned.
On the sweltering afternoon before Netanyahu’s speech Stoker, Jansz, Guilbeau and Roberts, sporting a varied combination of fatigue jackets, keffiyehs and combat boots, joined a crowd of thousands including veterans carrying a banner that said “Veterans Demand a Ceasefire Arms Embargo Now”. The army recruiting center in Times Square was plastered with “ceasefire” stickers and Stoker stood in front of a screen running a gritty recruitment advertisement to livestream to his Instagram, “Take it from me kids,” he said. “You don’t want to give up your youth and bury your friends for this. . .”
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