Ella Keidar Greenberg: Communist, Trans, and Refusing to Serve “Fascist Settlers”

Israel expected to her to be two things: a man and a soldier. She is not either of those.

Ella Keidar Greenberg has made headlines for refusing to serve in the IDF. As the first openly transgender refusenik, she pushes back against the image of Israel a democratic and pro-queer oasis in the Middle East. Being a member of the Communist Youth League, Ella has participated in a variety of demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza.

Having been sent to jail for two months due to her refusal, Ella found that the meaning of refusal changed after October 7th. In her mind, making the choice to refuse was “obvious”. Despite her time in prison not being easy, she had a support system consisting of her family, the other communist youths, legal counsel, and her friends.

Ella’s political journey started when she came out as trans at the age of 14 and read the Communist Manifesto shortly after that. After finding the book in her grandmother’s library, she rejected two key expectations that Israeli society imposed upon her: to be a man and to be a soldier. Ever since then, Ella has become an icon among other queer people in the pro-Palestine movement.

This young trans woman’s actions directly challenge the idea of Israel being the democratic, pro-queer oasis of the Middle East. At the start of the genocide, over 200 Israeli high school students signed an open letter that slammed the current administration as “fascist settlers”. Additionally, her arrest shows that Israel is not interested in protecting its queer citizens, but in using them as pawns.

Ella Keidar Greenberg is not alone as a queer person who supports the Palestinian cause. Queer people are consistently at the forefront of Western pro-Palestine advocacy. Additionally, Ella’s advocacy pushes back against pinkwashing and other efforts to make Israel seem more progressive than it really is.