The freedom of conscience and sociological perspectives on dilemmas of collective secular disobedience: The case of Israel

This paper analyses the transformation of the conscientious objection patterns that occur in a large number of countries, and Israel (discussed in this paper more profoundly) is one of them. Paradoxically, pacifist conscientious objection, which often lacks acknowledgement by the civil society, has received legal recognition in various countries, whereas conscientious disobedience, which is usually justified by a large number of 'legitimate' civil society organizations and groups, as a rule is not assigned any recognized status by the legal authorities. The broadening of conscientious disobedience and the rise in a number of civil society groups that evidently express their disagreement with the state authorities' current policy certainly demonstrate a decline in the extent of the legitimacy of the state and its institutions. The changing sociopolitical reality and the transformation of conscientious objection require a redefinition of the phenomenon of conscientious disobedience by the legal and legislative authorities.