New “Refusenik” Group
Ma’ariv reports that “a group of bereaved parents has begun organizing an anti-induction campaign, aimed at getting recruits to refuse to join the IDF.” Here are excerpts from the flyer, that is to be distributed outside the main induction base at Tel Hashomer:
“We are not recommending you refuse to join the IDF. On the contrary, we encourage you to join, since the country’s oligarchy and political elite needs an army to ensure nothing happens to their ill-gotten gains, which they have amassed at the expense of the average Israeli, having been given a license by the politicians to pillage the national economy, by purchasing major publicly owned economic assets for a pittance”.
“Do not be fooled by the officers spinning good lines about joining elite units. Forget the stories about battle and glory; you are young, inexperienced and easily deceived. The truth is that your chances of returning alive are not great, and if you fall on duty you will be forgotten after a few months, as unimportant to the powers that be as the earth under which you will lie for eternity”.
The existing refusenuk groups currently include the Shministim (Youth Refuseniks), Courage To Refuse, Yesh Gvul (There Is A Limit), New Profile, the Parent’s Forum and the Pilot refuseniks. The Refuser Solidarity Network, located in the United States, supports all these groups.
What about those who are refusing to uproot the Jewish cities in Gaza?
Or are you only talking about people who refuse to inconvenience Arabs?
Assaf, if Sherut Leumi was a viablie option instead of army service, would you have participated in it?
harry, yes. in fact almost all youth refuseniks i’ve encountered said they are willing to do civil service instead of army. moreover, many of the refuseniks, after being released from the army as conscientious objectors, engage in volunteer work that isnt even credited as sherut leumi (i am not talking about volunteer work in political groups, but in environmental groups, in poor neighboorhoods, etc.). this includes people who sat in jail already! the 5 refuseniks said from the beginning they are willing to do civil service but the army thought it would be better for them to sit in jail for almst 2 years, so they’ll set an example.
“… your chances of returning alive are not great…”
Seems to me to be a bit of an overstatement. Any numbers to back that up?
ronen, i thought the exact same thing.
until…
Since October, 2000 the number of Israeli security forces personnel killed is 295. There over 200,000 soldiers in the army, so you do the math.
More telling is that over twice as many civilians, 677, were killed in that same time period. Contrary to what this group says, those civilians were not all members of the country’s “oligarchy and political elite.”
to all 25 members of the listed groups: in every society there are those willing to shoulder the burden, and those who out of cowardice, laziness, and/or alienation become the avoiders. the mainsteam of your fellow jews place you in the latter category, while you see yourselves as the unique possessors of moral certainty. within two generations, if your grandchildren are even jewish and care, i suspect they also will look with distain on your actions.
Draft dodgers
Draft dodgers
Draft dodgers
I see it as a healthy period of Israeli society maturing. It isn’t a passing fad, and if anything it will actually get worse. Why? Because many secular Israelis have internalized the post-zionist philosophy that Israel ‘the conquerer’ is not worth fighting for and/or their sons don’t have to fight ‘someone else’s wars'(namely the Jews/settlers). You can hear someone say ‘no land is worth dying for’ or ‘no rock is worth dying for’ every other day from someone else.
But this minority ‘secular’ sector is rapidly shrinking as it’s reproduction rate plummets and those of the religious continues to stay high. In about a decade or so, religious kids will be the majority of junior officers, and start pulling a higher ratio in the elite units and regular fighting units as well. The non-religious who’ve received bohemian education from their parents will slowly distance themselves from the army which will turn into a bastion of religious Jews. It just won’t be ‘cool’ anymore and it will turn into ‘their’ army, not ‘mine’.
Now while this white, secular sector is a minority in Israel, it’s control of the media and over-representation in cultural figures lets it skew popular trends and so this new ‘army for religious Jews not in consensus anymore’ feeling will just grow and grow.
“You can hear someone say ‘no land is worth dying for’ or ‘no rock is worth dying for’ every other day from someone else.” Damn this crazy radical seculars!
—Avi
what’s the halacha from the torah about going to war? If you’re afraid to, you can’t, you must run away. if you just got married, and have something to live for, you can’t. It would the law of Moshe would be on the side of draft dodging, no?