Another protest rally - this time in Jerusalem

[Agape]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26412295

Israeli ultra-Orthodox in mass rally over army draft


Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have held a mass prayer in Jerusalem against plans to conscript more of their young men into the Israeli army.

New legislation that would end wholesale exemptions for students at Jewish seminaries is expected to pass in the coming weeks.

A draft bill sets quotas for ultra-Orthodox men to join military or civilian public service.

Those who refuse could face prison.

'Save me'
The ultra-Orthodox demonstration closed off the main entrance to Jerusalem and blocked off many roads to traffic.

Men and teenagers dressed in black hats and coats carried signs that read "The holy Torah will win" and "Please save me from the hands of my brothers".

Rabbis read prayers against the draft over loudspeakers as crowds joined in, swaying backwards and forwards.

In an unusual display of unity, all the three major ultra-Orthodox Jewish streams were represented: Lithuanian, Hassidic and Sephardic.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll256/PaldenLhamo/_73319959_73319958_zpsd75fa15e.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/PaldenLhamo/media/_73319959_73319958_zpsd75fa15e.jpg.html)

"There are a lot of different types at this one demonstration. The real issue is that this new law will stop us practising the Torah as we should," says a yeshiva student, Yehudi. "This is another threat to the Jewish nation."

"We want to stay in education," adds another student, Shmoli. "If we are forced to go into the army there will be a lot of dangers to our religious beliefs."

"For example you have mingling of the sexes. This is not the way we were brought up."

Growth group
Exemptions from military conscription were given to the ultra-Orthodox when Israel was created in 1948. At that time there were only 400 yeshiva students.

Now owing to their high birth rate, the ultra-Orthodox account for about 10% of the country's population of about eight million people.

They are a relatively poor social group. Most ultra-Orthodox men are unemployed because of their religious studies and rely on donations, state benefits and their wives' wages to live.

This has long caused resentment among Israel's secular majority leading to a demand for the ultra-Orthodox to share the so-called social burden.

In the past, Israel's coalition governments have often relied on the support of ultra-Orthodox partners, making it hard to make political changes that affect their communities.

However the current Israeli cabinet has no ultra-Orthodox members and parties are pushing for the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make reforms.

Some Israeli political leaders hope that a new approach will ultimately see more ultra-Orthodox men also entering the workplace.





o5HoWwaLdKM




Very peculiar sighting ... but it also speaks volumes . None of these young man want to be sacrificed for someones bloody war .


:angel:

[chocolate]

These are general images of men taken before during and after war.
I can't imagine how it would feel to be a mother/spouse/sister/etc. of a man going to war.
It is not related to the protest, but just gives some perspective into the whole madness of the situation. Generations of people being sacrificed in the name of ... what exactly.

http://petapixel.com/2011/12/16/portraits-of-soldiers-before-during-and-after-war/

http://www.petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2011/12/soldier1_mini.jpg
http://www.petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2011/12/soldier2_mini.jpg
http://www.petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2011/12/soldier3_mini.jpg

[Wind]

At the moment we are witnessing the breakup of the old paradigm, a new consciousness is emerging in the hearts of men. Things are about to change collectively, to put it mildly.

[Limor Wolf]

Folks, I do understand that differences between cultures and religions and countries can be very confusing, this is one such case, if I may say. There is nothing here that protest against the military or the army and it's functions or against violence, nothing at all. This is a routine demonstration that happens every once in a while in Israel whenever the Knesset threatens to recruit yeshive students (very religious young jews) although this time proportionally larger. What characterises the ultraorthodox culture to make them go and protest is not any moral values that consider the atrocities of war against others, or any resistance towards having a strong military power, but they simply believe it is corrupting when men serve alongside woman and their pious young ones alongside modern society. they also believe that with prayers only and the worshiping of god the selcted jewish people can beat any foreign enemy.
They do support the army but they do not want to be part of it themselves and want to keep studying 'torah' (bible) and not be mixed with seculars that may get their haredi public a little too close to modern life that for them represent 'evil' culture.

This has nothing to do with any expanded consciousness, a real peaceful motives, or any type of new understanding that emerges which befits the times we are in. Unintentionally, such a thread can be a little misleading. And such protests unlike other protests around the world are a result of some radical religious considerations rather than those reasons we would all like to see. Sorry Agape :unsure:


Originally posted by Agape: "Very peculiar sighting ... but it also speaks volumes . None of these young man want to be sacrificed for someones bloody war"

[Agape]

Limor ..thank you for inserting your first hand view point and testimony here , I'm not trying to automatically 'imply' anything . Enhanced morals versus narrow minded views, quite possibly , the Truth is on side of Peace anyway .

I see they are innocent , maybe ignorant , and maybe they prefer to stay this way forever . Maybe ..

They're still human beings... my immediate impression of any crowd .. is that there's little to be accomplished but it means something ..
a hive gathering .. the collective follows instincts that we can only guess .


My hat would fly off ....


:plane:

[Peace&Love]

As an x-Israeli, i have to agree with Limor. It's based on an old Historically political benefit given to 200 Ultra orthodox men, being exempted from army service, then with time this number grew as to receive a higher mandate power for building a coalition as this sector have voting rights, thus can affect greatly any government decisions. So its a game that took a bigger form during the decades, 'you exempt us we support your political goals'. As the army service is mandatory to citizens, i always thought it is only right to either not force the army on anyone, or either equally on everyone that wants the benefits of voting and a citizen. Army is like a jail with slavery, it is really not fun. Those exempted are really having normal life relatively to the young 18 years old carrying sand bags in the desert. Its really sad things got into this.

[Synchronicity]

Folks, I do understand that differences between cultures and religions and countries can be very confusing, this is one such case, if I may say. There is nothing here that protest against the military or the army and it's functions or against violence, nothing at all. This is a routine demonstration that happens every once in a while in Israel whenever the Knesset threatens to recruit yeshive students (very religious young jews) although this time proportionally larger. What characterises the ultraorthodox culture to make them go and protest is not any moral values that consider the atrocities of war against others, or any resistance towards having a strong military power, but they simply believe it is corrupting when men serve alongside woman and their pious young ones alongside modern society. they also believe that with prayers only and the worshiping of god the selcted jewish people can beat any foreign enemy.
They do support the army but they do not want to be part of it themselves and want to keep studying 'torah' (bible) and not be mixed with seculars that may get their haredi public a little too close to modern life that for them represent 'evil' culture.

This has nothing to do with any expanded consciousness, a real peaceful motives, or any type of new understanding that emerges which befits the times we are in. Unintentionally, such a thread can be a little misleading. And such protests unlike other protests around the world are a result of some radical religious considerations rather than those reasons we would all like to see. Sorry Agape :unsure:


Originally posted by Agape: "Very peculiar sighting ... but it also speaks volumes . None of these young man want to be sacrificed for someones bloody war"

I'm confused. I understand not wanting to participate in fighting, and I wouldn't want to either. What confuses me is the part about the men not working and just following religious studies. Is that for a certain period of time, or do these men get to have the wives and state support them their whole lives? I would love to be able to follow spiritual studies full time, but I can't imagine the state or my partner being okay with that forever. I don't know anything about this and am curious? Thanks for any information you might have on the topic :)

[Lifebringer]

Killing the mind heart and soul, when it's all a LIE. NO liberty, NO democratic republic, NO flowers and other ch*t the right CON WARMONGERS PUSH, just more munitions profits, death, and not even a "gold" medal to the GOLD STAR FAMILIES who lost for the corporate, WS, bankster puppet lie, on the right, who btw, won't even tax 'em after moving billions of jobs since NAFTE/LEWINSKIGATE/Presidential ARMS Twisting sent overseas and WE PAY THEM TO DO IT. After 7 years of Bush/Obama, and Republican control since 2010, why hasn't NAFTA been brought to the floor for a vote, on whether AMERICANS want what's left of the jobs current, or NEWLY CREATED go overseas for cheaper assembly wages that don't pay our bills when we pay to receive what could have been MADE IN AMERICA. IT'S NOT SEPARATIST, IT'S SURVIVAL FOR OUR CHILDREN. Sure there'll be products that can be made over there, but if they want our "minimum wage transfer of product/funds" they'll have to pay a tax to sell it here, simple as that. Oh yeah and the illegal worker, c'mon, ("we either get them for back taxes like capone to earn citizenship/payment for roads driven and ss identification theft to work.)

It's gotta be settled so we can move on, and if we don't keep a "neighbor's friendship" to aid in revolution when big gov has shadows, then how the heck can you connect to someone overseas, that's on the teet and not a neighbor. There is more to security than military intervention overseas, and America, who's followed more lies than a demon, needs to get used to the fact, that bs won't wash anymore.

Simple as that. WAR destroys the mind, soul, body and family of American Voters and the elite's children will never see a uniform or recruitment center.

Think about that one for our kids, will ya. They don't even want to cover our soldiers returning, or education. If they had their way, the only lesson they would learn is how to shoot straight, when they are told to do so, in the next "faux/trumped/hoodwinked/lie to war. CONS never quit trying for WW3, and if they can get two going for their stock portfolio both black and on the table, that's all the more cheddar in their stinky cheese legislation they've got planned in agenda 21.

WE don't count in that math.
May God be our guidance and protection from the evil that permeates these last ones as they go wherever God has for them to go/get judge however Creator has in store for them. Work on ourselves, for we surely let emotions make us fall short. Who has time to take things in our own incompetent and infant to the Universal truth hands?

[Lifebringer]

They've always stood for not participating in the wars of the nation. I think's religious conscience like Muhammad Ali, but Ali did time. Mandatory military service to live in Israel? Whoa. Sounds like a certain Nazi dictator of the 30's that demanded they serve or should I say "persuaded them to serve."

If people don't have the heart to go shoot on the battlefield, surely they can serve in some other purpose for the country. Do they do "charity work?" or Participate in building the nation? Or educating other Jewish civilians? I'm curious also.

[Peace&Love]

Hello friends,

Here are some points from my experience, as i was born and raised in religious family that also participated in civilian life.

It is hard to explain the many dichotomies of the current 'Israeli life' The above group is very pure in their vision of reality according to their religion, they follow their leaders ruling and immerse themselves in learning the words of and praying to 'God'. Something similar to the 'Amish' but different set of rules.

They fear immensely to disobey the words of 'God' and always try to walk in the permitted zone which their leaders (Rabbis) conclude for them by the 'holy scriptures'.
Many of this group haven't decided for themselves if they are truly 'Israelis' or not, but mostly will respect the common law.
If one would ask me what is it all about, then i would answer this is just another method of control of population to feed of the emotional energy created by worship and fear, mixed with some spiritual philosophy to create a sort of balance so it would not implode on itself.

This group of people are not in any shape or form 'Awakened' or 'Anti-War' if their leaders told them to prepare for 'holy war' they would do just that, its not about pacifism, its about separating themselves due to comfortable conditions the state has given them (no need to serve or work) social benefits, health care etc... and focusing on the religious aspect of life, something like 'monks' but the only problem is that most of the working/paying taxes population do not agree to this injustice, as it made upon the citizens back. Due to political power (from their voting rights) they have always managed to keep the 'status Quo' in return of support the biggest coalition party, also as they are big population, they have always threatened to fill the jails with their refusal, and because they don't joke around, the state of Israel doesn't want to look bad on tv, putting thousands of them in 'Imprisonment Facilities', so there was always this 'looking away' policy to let them have it. It is a strange reality not only for outside observers but also inside Israel, and as they are not organic part of society they are left alone usually to mind their own business. I would not want to force anyone to go to the army, as i know it is truly a nightmare, but then again if one wants to 'live' in Israel, then one should know it is obligatory.

[Agape]

But should it be acceptable ( from your point of view ) to embrace Peace and Non-violence as core principle of Faith ,
as much as it already stringent part of every pure-minded religious observations , whether these are Jewish, Hindu , Christian , Muslim or Buddhist ( to name but a few )

and should the existence of 'religious states' such as Israel, the Vatican , Tibet ( for Tibetan Buddhist monks ), Mecca for Muslims , and plenty of other sacred territories on earth mark presence of 'peace zones' respected as such by all nations ( I know you will say , there comes a problem .. but I hope that's a solvable problem as long as principles of religious tolerance are kept intact ) .

Army training can be healthy for 'healthy young man' and right of passage of its own sort ,
however .. what very few of these teen-agers on either side of the world today realise is that they're being signed to merciless war machine that uses them as puppets , as killing tools and living targets and though army training 'does not have to end in this' ,

there are still ..thousands of young people of all cultures finding themselves in combat and blood sheds .

In all cultures .. the Priests .. were people who followed moral principles and purity as far as they could - and taught others the same - whether those others followed or not is whole another question ,

and exempt themselves from killing living beings .. often even touching things like money,
the same goes for Hindu and Buddhist monks ..millions of them in Eastern countries,
the same is true for Christian monks and nuns .


I understand that not all of the above quoted people are genuine . No way, in none culture, all of the monks are genuine .

But could the very existence of 'religious state' mean a place of Peace and religious observation respected by all 3 major faiths concerned ?


Establishing such Peace Zones - Neutrality Zones on Earth would be a huge step forwards .....




:angel:

[Peace&Love]

In my early life, i thought that Judaism is actually all about it, love and inner peace. But the only problem was the technicalities of it.
If it is truly God speaking, then how come people outside of the Jewish circle do not see the 'beauty' of it. It is because as much beauty and peacefulness can radiate for religious people, it has oh so many flaws, wrong doings and intentions.
The picture was always vague for me, if this what really the creator of the universes and all life, if this is what really matters to him like sacrifices in the temple or circumcision or many other bloody habits.
There is a problem inside the equation of the religion that it doesn't allow a person to think deeply and freely about certain issue, thus stopping the self discernment and the 'I AM, THUS I KNOW' from actually serving the human towards making decisions of love and mutual peace.

Religions for me, are of varying degrees, as Buddhism represent to me the closest to the truth, but still the fact it is organized orchestrated, uniform oriented means it was a tool for control of population. Many of the mystical figures, we don't even know, could be the 'Gods/Aliens' that enjoyed the worship.

There are many beautiful things in the fact people gather together and pray and wish for good things, but this energy was mostly harnessed for other purposes by our 'leaders'.

I have been in the army, and i can tell you these kids don't have and will never probably have any clue how well played they were.
There is a propaganda and social stress that create motivation for being honored as an army man. The ranks, symbols and the notion of false 'self importance' is buying the hearts of the young toward becoming the sitting ducks in range. I lost too many good friends in this soul abusive 'game'.
No army should exist and no weapon should be created. It is all illusion created for us to release emotional energy which entities feeds of.

[Agape]

Religions are creation of men .. and interpretations of the Absolute Truth ... intuitive answers to big questions that we hope to have answer for ,
and we can't be so wrong .. to have no answers .

I'm not proponent of religions but often find myself as their 'protector' because I see we're facing greater danger in this world that looks like Big Void to me ..
the void of higher purpose .. and God and Spirit .. and whatever Gnosis .. because it can't be immediately proven it's being categorically dismissed and pure atheism has taken a form of new 'religious dogma' automatically accepted and taught as unquestionable base of science and intelligence and what else you have ,
void of moral principles .. void of faith ..

Reminds me really of the 16 great 'emptinesses' ( Maha Shunya ) taught by Buddha himself , though .. not as a 'peak' of his wisdom but a mere passage to enlightenment .

I think that even in his case, speaking of Buddhas enlightenment .. there had to be great open mind and 'void of expectations' , and the virtue of courage .. after he was starring to the great Void Space ...
that was filled with 'something' in faith of generations of generations of his ancestors ,

and he saw nothing that would not be a state of mind and he saw no mind that would exist independently of causes and consequences .. and so forth ..

and till then , it all had to feel very pathetic and human .

Remember that 'atheism' was called 'shunyavada' ( from shunya =emptiness , vada=speech or philosophy ) and it was one of 16 major philosophical schools in India already some 800 year BC.

Not sure why the number 16 gets into here, anyway .

But then .. something much more extraordinary happened to Buddha , behind the emptinesses ( or realisation of super-relativity if you wish ) or he would end up as another shunya-vadin ,

something happened to him.. it was in Bodhgaya after all ...

In religious terms , people would say he 'found God' . Others would say 'found himself' . Traditional Hinduism maintains that Buddha is 9th incarnation of Mahavishnu - the great Protector aspect of Universe .

Buddha did not claim anything of that sort .. but obviously he found quite something if it took him life and 80 000 sutras to explain himself . ;)

It does not matter .. people should not argue because of their 'religions' .. they should follow them in practise instead . Seek for the Truth .. personally .

Whenever I had chance to speak to some group of genuine seekers , no matter what they considered themselves .. I tried to tell them ..
those who found truth had to have the courage to search for it on their own . They were not someones 'photocopies' .

I see this danger taking over the human world looking like 'great Void' to me . There's one movie for children , called the Neverending Story .. it reminds me of that too,
the void swallowing everything ...
people turning to machines and vice versa, wearing the same fashionable cloth and turning to 'Barbie dolls' .

Even in religions, they all look the same, wearing uniforms and doing one and the same thing , instead thinking on their own .


Naturally ..of course.. the Story has to have a good ending from where I see it because Life is original . God is a God of Living things ... if you try to disprove your own nature is Divine , it turns you very depressed at the end . It's our term for a Mystery that is greater than we are .. and the Mystery rebirthes itself even if we all end up in the void ..


:angel:

[Peace&Love]

AMEN to your words :)

I just have to disagree in one small miniscule point :P Religions are not made by humans, they are maintained and interpreted continually according to the challenges of living life, changing eras and time, but they were not created by the human earth brain. They were enforced/ taught by aliens.

I agree the Atheism is the vacuum necessary for the Void to take full power and needs to be avoided. We should seek for who we are, for our higher self, for prime creator, for the beauty of the nature of earth, and the holiness of our body and soul. These point should be where we start our journey. Unfortunately the religions i had experience with of do not delve into aspects as 'Higher Self' and such realms.

I don't know much about Buddhism or Hinduism, but i am not going to wear a new uniform on myself, as even the word religion for me is too harsh and unforgiving, so i am not against the positive outcome of religions on human consciousness, but i believe a new level of awareness should be spread, one that do not follow old practices of worship, prophets and figures.
:P Just my opinion at this current state of knowing

[Agape]

AMEN to your words :)

I just have to disagree in one small miniscule point :P Religions are not made by humans, they are maintained and interpreted continually according to the challenges of living life, changing eras and time, but they were not created by the human earth brain. They were enforced/ taught by aliens.



I tend to disagree on that point but then it really depends on what is the meaning of 'religion' for person and society .

This has been debated by thousands of prominent .. and forgotten pundits, philosophers , preachers, prophets , priests and common folks alike over the history of mankind .. million year old history and there's something we've recently agreed on ,
at the end of the last millennium ..
searching for solutions and tolerance among people , their unique and different cultures and 'religions' and that is ..

religion means re-establishing the law . The inner law of righteousness that should be the very definition of cultured human being-ness ,
respected by every religious scripture in the world . As H.H. Dalailama says , ''being a good human being '' .

Even one of my Muslim friends in Dharamsala tried to convey the same message to me, explaining that the word for 'muslim' in Koran is actually 'mummin' which translates as 'good human being' .

See this .. the 10 Biblical commandments are about the same as 10 Buddhist precepts ( to be observed by every lay or monastic practitioner ),
they're the same as core religious precepts for every Hindu , Muslim , Jew or Christian .

There's no holy scripture or religion in the world that advises people to kill, steal , lie, hoard possessions , speak ill of other people , perform acts of violence by body , speech and mind , at your liberty .. and feel that's alright .

I don't see anything 'alien' in that .

I also don't see anything too alien in people searching for God and higher Truth and Righteousness in world , or beyond world, that does not abide by those principles and I do see that purely secular education that somehow misses ethical education as its substantial part - though it does not have to be taught in religious terms,
creates 'lost generation' that at some stage of their personal evolution misses good example of what does it mean to be 'good human being' , deeper than having 'good family, big screen TV , nice salary and fashionable cloth'.

There are several lessons I learned by experience, during this short human life .. one of them is that big portion of human behaviour is not inborn but acquired .
Quite like language/s we learned from our parents, teachers and friends , we also adopt ( almost automatically ) certain skills and behavioural tactics by being exposed to each other ..
whether this concerns the fact we learn to respond to other genders, faces , cultures and religious customs.

People brought up in strictly secular societies have very often heart difficulty to relate and feel spontaneous in 'religious environments' and vice versa .

Both of them develop habits and customs, types of ritualistic behaviours - humans have natural tendency to create rituals - it gives us all a sense of creating 'order' .

Similar way we adopt certain ethical principles ( if those are present ) without thinking , and even if we find ourselves transgressing them, we're at least aware in our hearts that we do.

What seems automatic and unnecessary to good and mature human being - being good to each other and observing or trying to keep level of ethical standard ,
is unfortunately not yet quite true .. for the majority of human populace on earth.

I can imagine that in old times .. cultured norms and customs differed from tribe to tribe even more than they do now.

For some tribes, killing their 'alien brothers' from neighbour tribe was quite fine because they were not worth to be called 'humans' . They were 'others' .

Stealing or lying too was considered fine for some , if they were dealing with members of societies they considered 'inferior' .

Interestingly enough, despite all of our prejudice and conviction , many of these old atavistic behaviours remain a part of todays 'modern society' , business and marketing are one of its best examples . It's considered 'kosher' to spy on your enemy , and steal the 'other companies marketing secrets' . Lying about your profits or concealing your modus operandi is acceptable 'norm ' .

So back to the point of religions... in my view, they're not alien - though , some of them do preserve deeper historical and perhaps even extraterrestrial secrets but is it our wish to destroy those secrets or is it our wish to unlock them ?
And do people think that unlocking those 'secrets' can be done by brute force or threats ?

Where does it leave the 'good human being' at the end ?


:angel:

[Hervé]

How 'bout this one:

Israeli Youth: 'We Refuse to Serve in the Occupation Army' (https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/03/10-5#.Ux7S8uVJzwg.facebook)
Published on Monday, March 10, 2014 by Common Dreams (http://www.commondreams.org)

Sixty young people sign open letter to Netanyahu announcing their resistance to the draft in biggest wave of refusal since 2008
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer


http://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/imce-images/shministim.jpg

Dafna Rothstein Landman told Common Dreams she'll go to jail before she'll serve in the Israeli Army. (Photo courtesy of Dafna Rothstein Landman)"If necessary, I will go to jail."

Those are the words of 17-year-old Dafna Rothstein Landman, one of 60 and counting Israeli youth (http://www.facebook.com/mesarvot) who signed an open letter sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend declaring their refusal of compulsory service in the Israeli military — the biggest wave of conscientious objection the country has seen since 2008 (http://www.refusingtokill.net/Israel/ShministimLetter2008.htm).

Under the banner of Shministim — Hebrew for 12th graders — the group (http://www.facebook.com/refusingIDF) of conscientious objectors condemns the dehumanization of Palestinians living under occupation. In the Palestinian territories, "human rights are violated, and acts defined under international law as war-crimes are perpetuated on a daily basis," their letter states. "These include assassinations (extrajudicial killings), the construction of settlements on occupied lands, administrative detentions, torture, collective punishment and the unequal allocation of resources such as electricity and water."

Entitled We Refuse to Serve in the Occupation Army, (http://www.facebook.com/notes/%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%93-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A9/letter-of-conscientious-objectors-2014/289776551172112) the letter charges that this dehumanization hurts Israelis as well. "The problem with the army does not begin or end with the damage it inflicts on Palestinian society. It infiltrates everyday life in Israeli society too: it shapes the educational system, our workforce opportunities, while fostering racism, violence and ethnic, national and gender-based discrimination."

"We refuse to forsake our principles as a condition to being accepted in our society," reads the joint letter, penned by people aged 16 to 20 who are eligible for compulsory service in the Army. "We have thought about our refusal deeply and we stand by our decisions."

Dafna, who helped write the letter, told Common Dreams she was only 15 years old when she began questioning her military service — a process she says was catalyzed when she reflected on the imprint of Israeli militarism on her own schooling experience. "I realized to what extent the education system is geared towards the Army and not towards further education, the job market, personal interests, etcetera," she said.

Soon after, she began traveling from her home in Tel Aviv to the West Bank, where she participated in Palestinian demonstrations against Israeli occupation. Here, she witnessed the "violence of the Army" first-hand. "I met people from those Palestinian villages," she said. "That meant that instead of names in a newspaper they became people, with faces and personalities."

She added that she became aware of the way "the Army perpetuates an ideal of male violence," within Israeli society.

When she and her friends began receiving letters about their Army draft around last summer, they became "worried" and began taking steps towards their joint refusal.

This year's crop of public resisters follows a history of joint draft refusal in Israel, which has been waged since 1970, when a group of students declared their refusal of the draft in an open letter to then-Prime Minister Golda Meir. The term Shministim caught on in 2008 when 100 young people signed an open letter (http://www.refusingtokill.net/Israel/ShministimLetter2008.htm) refusing the draft, and the years since have seen waves of conscientious objection.

This includes resisters from the Druze religious community — a conscientious objection movement that is reportedly growing (http://electronicintifada.net/content/growing-numbers-druze-refuse-serve-israels-army/12285), as well as ultra-orthodox draft refusers. According to (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/049/1999/en/ad4a1987-e0e5-11dd-aaeb-414a3b04625c/mde150491999en.html) the Committee for the Druze Initiative, a Druze organization that supports conscientious objectors, since compulsory service was imposed on Druze men in 1956, approximately 5,000 have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the Army.

“We stand in solidarity with the ultra-orthodox youth and the Arab youth – Christian and Druze, some of whom are currently in an army prison,” said Roni Lax, a 20 year old signatory from Bnei Brak, in a statementabout the letter emailed to Common Dreams.

The Israeli military makes it near-impossible to declare conscientious objector status, and refusers are often jailed for multiple consecutive terms for refusing an order. Meanwhile, many Druze resisters face horrific conditions (http://www.newprofile.org/english/node/396) in prison, including religious and ethnic discrimination. Several Palestinian citizens of Israel from the Druze community are currently incarcerated (http://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-tried-brainwash-us-says-druze-pioneer-who-refused-army-service/13047) for refusing the draft.

"The Army serves the people in power and not the civilians, who are only a tool," said Shaked Harari, a 17-year-old signatory from Bat Yam. "My friends and I refuse to be cannon fodder."

"My refusal is a way of expressing my opposition to the wrongs done daily in our name and through us," said Mandy Cartner, a 16-year-old signatory from Tel Aviv.

Says Dafna, "In a society where Army service is taken for granted, we wanted to shake this concept and make people think about the implications of serving in the Army."

_____________________
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

[Rocky_Shorz]

Orthodox jews are why the middle east has been at war for 3000 years...

it is time those who cause wars stand on the front line to fight them...


Book about killing gentile children becomes bestseller in Israel

JERUSALEM – A Jewish rabbi has issued a book giving Jews permission to murder non-Jews, including babies and children, who may pose an actual or potential threat to Jews or Israel. “It is permissible to kill the Righteous among non-Jews even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation,” Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement in the occupied West Bank, wrote in his book “The King’s Torah.”

He argues that goyem (a derogatory epithet for non-Jews) may be killed if they threaten Israel.

“If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments – because we care about thecommandments – there is nothing wrong with the murder.”

Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro – co-author of the book

Shapiro, who heads a small Talmudic school at the settlement of Yitzhar near Nablus, claims his edict “is fully justified by the Torah and the Talmud.”

The anti-goyem edict seems to come in response to the arrest by Israeli police of a Jewish terrorist who has confessed to having murdered two Palestinian shepherds in the West Bank.

The terrorist, an American-born immigrant named Yaakov Teitel, also confessed to have tried to assassinate leftist Jewish figures.

Police considered the arrest an important achievement in combating Jewish terrorism, which experts contend thrives on religious edicts issued by rabbis affiliated with the religious-Zionist camp.

Nearly 16 years ago, a Jewish terrorist named Yigal Amir assassinated then Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin.

Moreover, numerous innocent Palestinians have also been murdered in cold blood by Jewish terrorists.

In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a notorious Jewish terrorist, murdered 29 Muslim worshipers inside Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank town of al-Khalil.

Non-Humans

The controversial edict is backed by numerous rabbis affiliated with the so-called national-religious camp as well as the Talmudic seminary in West Jerusalem, known as Merkaz Ha’rav.

Among the rabbis who have publicly supported the edict are Yitzhak Ginsburg and Ya’akov Yosef.

Ginsburg had written a leaflet glorifying murderer Goldstein and called him a “saintly figure.”

Shapiro’s views on how Palestinians and non-Jews in general ought to be treated according to Jewish religious law (halacha) are widely looked at as representing the mainstream not the exception in Israel.

During the Israeli onslaught against Gaza earlier this year, Mordecahi Elyahu, one of the leading rabbinic figures in Israel, urged the army not to refrain from killing enemy children in order to save the lives of Israeli soldiers.

He had even petitioned the Israeli government to carry out a series of carpet bombing of Palestinian population centers in Gaza.

“If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand. And if they do not stop after we kill a thousand, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop, we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to stop them.”

According to Israel Shahak, author of “Jewish History, Jewish Religion: the Weight of Three Thousand years,” the term “human beings” in Jewish law refers solely to Jews.

link to full story (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=536_1368957227)


the children saying they will not fight, need to stand against the religious leaders of the state.


the commandments were given, Do Not Kill, has only One meaning...


everything else is mans religious interpretation to explain why killing is ok...


where is the best selling Jewish book saying why killing non jews is a sin?