Off to the army
Photo: Yaron Brener
Teens fight draft dodging
Hundreds of Jewish, Druze youths send letter urging prime minister, defense minister to fight draft dodging phenomenon
Hundreds of Jewish and Druze teenagers came together Tuesday, in an effort to fight the increasing draft dodging in the country.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
and Defense Minister Ehud Barak,
the teenagers wrote, “The State of Israel and the IDF must work diligently in order to reduce the draft-dodging phenomenon.”
The teens, all members of the Tsameret youth organization, gathered at Moshav Nordia in the north, in order to launch a campaign against the growing phenomenon.
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“We are expressing our deep concern regarding the phenomenon, which could lead to the disintegration of Israeli society in the future, and could damage the value of serving in the IDF.
“A responsible leadership is responsible for showing public courage and determination that will ensure the phenomenon decreases, and preserve the IDF as an army of the people.”
One of the letter’s initiators was Yosef Zinaoi (23), formerly an Israeli air force officer. “We came to make an alliance against not serving in the army by Druze and Jewish citizens. We all sent the letter, and we call on them to give serious thought to the issue. It bothers me that there are people who don’t enlist, because that is the essence of the country’s existence,” he said.
“I think the reason behind draft dodging amongst the Druze is political in most of the villages. Those who refuse say that if there is a percentage among the Jewish population that doesn’t serve, why should we serve? Also, the attachment to the country is weak,” Zinaoi added.
Moshe Ben Atar, chairman of the Zionist Council in Israel, commented on the letter and said the growing number of draft dodgers “could break Israeli society in the long run, and damage its core values”.
“Those who don’t enlist are in effect crumbling the foundations of Israeli society,” he concluded.
