Rabbi urges religious youths to refuse orders

Rabbi Aharon Trop, head of the Bnei Tzvi Yeshiva in Beit El, and a rising force among West Bank rabbis, has called for mass order refusal following the Annapolis conference. "This is a moral crime raised on a black flag, it justified and even demands order refusal," Trop said.

Trop made the comments in a leaflet to the Komemeyut movement which will be distributed on Saturday in synagogues, and which reached Ynet. In the leaflet, the rabbi calls on the public to declare in advance on plans to refuse orders or to go AWOL en masse in case of settlement evacuation.

Under the headline "Enough of Protests!" Rabbi Trop sets out against demonstrations, which he says are used as weapons against democratic regimes, but which are not useful against a cynical corrupt government and a hostile press.

Rally against Annapolis conference this week (Photo: Dudi Vaknin)

In addition, he says protests cause harm, since they "release steam and calm the participants" – a clear interest of the government. "The money, efforts, energies, and rest of the resources should be chaneneled to useful aims," he declared.

Trop sets out his paths for struggle: Changing perception and understanding and drawing attention to what he says is a violation of Jewish law and morality which must not be carried out or assisted even if the majority supports it. He calls for youths to be educated along those lines, as well as a public statement on the intention to go AWOL from the IDF or refuse orders in case of evacuation of settlements.

He also calls for serious preparation for struggle on the ground and for "putting the brakes on the eviction," as well as a good PR campaign.