'Draft dodgers don't give bare minimum for country'
President, defense minister berate youths who avoid mandatory military service during event commemorating 2,200 fallen soldiers from kibbutz movement
President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak slammed the phenomenon of youths shirking their military service at the unveiling of a monument in northern Israel commemorating the 2,200 fallen
soldiers from the kibbutz movement.
"Those who avoid serving in the IDF do not give even the bare minimum required for Israel's existence. The volunteering spirit of the kibbutz youths should inspire similar contributions from the rest of the population," said Peres.
"And these words are proved in the numbers. The kibbutzim constitute 1.5% of the Israeli public and 12% of Israel's fallen, 10 times the national average."
Kibbutzim sons constitute 12% of IDF fallen (Photo: Hagai Aharon)
Barak, himself from the movement, said that the kibbutzim had the moral right to sound off against draft dodgers and rally against the growing inequality in shouldering the burden as more and more youths chose not to serve out of "selfish or careerist reasons."
"As someone who grew up on a kibbutz and who has devoted decades of his life to Israel's security, I can testify that the natural driving force for us in the course of our lives was the sense we had a mission, that we were serving a cause far greater and more important than us," he said.
"My children and grandchildren would never dream of evading their duty. It all starts with the education they receive," said Ezra Rabin of Kibbutz Gaash, one of the men behind the initiative to build the
monument.
"My heart aches when I see youths trying to find ways out of the army nowadays. We were taught and we continue to teach that one must contribute to the country," he said.
