ONE GENERATION: TWO MORAL UNIVERSES.

THE BEAUTIFUL

On August 6th 2024, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamino and Fatema Zainab Rajwani were part of a group of young people who broke into a newly-built facility of Elbit Systems (Israel’s biggest weapons producer) in Filton, Bristol, and inflicted serious damage (more than £1million) on a shipment of quadcopter drones that the Israeli Occupying Forces make widespread use of in Gaza.

(A quadcopter drone is used for regular bombing purposes, but also as sniper-drones, activated after bombings to kill remaining survivors by detecting living pulses. They have also been known to play recordings of crying children to lure out survivors and then kill them).

Charlotte Head (30): activist, writer and domestic abuse care worker in London.

Samuel Corner (23): Oxford graduate and student organiser, keen environmentalist. Leona Kamino (30): musician and forest school nursery teacher from Wales. Fatema Zainab Rajwani (21): film student, poet and activist.

At their first trial, in November 2025, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty” for all defendants regarding the charge of aggravated burglary. For the other charges, no verdicts were returned.

This outcome was unacceptable to the government. At their retrial (early this month), Mr Justice Johnson systematically stitched things up to ensure draconian sentences would be handed down. Charlotte Head and Leona Kamino were sentenced to six years, Fatema Zainab Rajwani to five years and eight months, and Sam Corner to 8 years and eight months, taking account of his additional guilty verdict of Gross Bodily Harm Without Intent.

These are the Beautiful, as captured by Sukaini Rajwani, mother of Fatema Zainab:

“When the state holds 21 year olds without trial for 19 months, stiches up a retrial, then locks them away as a terrorist, you realise how scared they are. Scared of Fatema, scared of Leona, scared of Lottie, scared of Sam, scared of us, scared of our movement, scared of the community we have created, scared of their actions and resilience inspiring thousands more”.

THE DAMNED

All young Israelis from the age of 18 are required to do national service in the Israeli Occupying Forces (30 months for men and 18 months for women).

The number of conscientious objectors in Israel remains low; those that refuse to sign up are subjected to repeated sentences in military prison, and socially ostracised.

In their single-minded pursuit of “a Palestine free of Palestinians”, the Israeli Occupying Forces have killed more than 18,500 children and babies since October 2023, and maimed and mutilated many more. Military doctrine in Israel demands that soldiers should stop seeing Palestinians, even Palestinian babies, as human. Their lives are considered worthless.

Very few serving personnel within the Israeli Occupying Forces have (as yet) been charged with any war crimes or other abuses. They all live with the knowledge that they might be charged in the future, but have all been given a guarantee that they will not be held accountable as individuals.

The names of the following four members of the Israeli Occupying Forces (all active in Gaza) have been altered to ensure anonymity.

Lavi Dayan (30): IOF reservist, graduate of Tel Aviv university, keen environmentalist and volunteer for the Society for the Protection of Nature.

Esther Weiss (23): community organiser and food cooperative coordinator in a kibbutz in the West Bank. Tamar Elbaz (22): graduate of the University of Haifa, musician and teaching assistant. Izak Rabinovich (20): IT consultant and software designer; hoping to get into politics after national service.

These are the Damned, as captured in the words of the mother of Tamar Elbaz:

“As a second generation citizen of Israel, I support the actions of Netanyahu’s government — we are still surrounded by people who deny our right to be here. However, as a mother and teacher, I know that what Tamar is being forced to do in Gaza today is just wrong. I am losing her. She is losing herself. I know how she’ll try to explain to any children that she herself might have that she had no choice. That’s the cruel reality for young people in Israel face today. And I will love her, forever, whatever“.

“To hear the birds sing, the drones must first be silenced”. (Leona Kamino)