Religious Zionists now make the majority of elite units soldiers and young combat officers. They are the most motivated segment of the israeli population to defend their homeland. Basic good management would see the army of the jewish state at least respecting their religious convictions when possible. And it is possible, so why push them away and alienate them ?

Yes,scantily clad according toTHEIR value system(not mine) You do not adhere to that system ? Your choice but you have to confront real world Majority of soldiers and officers willing to risk their life for ERETZ ISRAEL (not medinat srael) see the thing that way and you must answer their needs because they are the present and the future of TSAHAL... Ignoramus from latin ignorare is the second plural verbal form...

If David is reluctant to face the Philistines because that Abigail stands among the warriors of Israel, let David return home. Abigail will go it alone. Who struck down Abimelech?

at the morning news of Kol Israel . Olim from the FSU are more voluntering for combat units than Sabras , in % of course .

"Religious Zionists" make up a smaller percentage of elite units and officers, majority of which are secular. The "Religious Zionists" and Haredim are better at demanding give aways and ability to evade service!

Interesting how the Rabbis focus on the Talmud so much since it is at the core of the Perushim legacy and violate the spirit and words of the Torah. Their favorite is Masechet Nezikin with Baba Kama, Batma Metziyah, and Baba Mysin. They convenient seem to forget how Barak Ben Avinoam begged Devorah to lead them into battle or he wouldn't go. They also seem to conveniently forget the cunning, brilliance, and courage of Yael who killed Sisra as he fled from the battle. They also seem to forget the remarkable brilliance of Esther (Hadassah) who save the Jewish people with her cunning. Mordechai was extremely knowledgeable (languages, events, people, etc.) but the dummy said to go tell Ahashverosh as though the facts by themselves would succeed. It was Esther's cunning and presentation that saved us and therefore the book is Megilat Esther - not Mordechai. We also honor Rahav for saving Yehoshua and Calev with her courage and cunning. We also remember that Rashis daughters who really pissed off these rabbis by the fact that she put on Tefillin. Oh the horror. They must have been Conservative Jews. But that is okay since they first focus on what THEY want and not what the Torah says. If the Torah says that we should not take interest, the Rabbis create "Heter Iska" to circumvent the Torah. If the Torah says "Lo T'vashel Gdi B'chalev Imo" and intends to teach us compassion (i.e. remember that you should not kill the bull and its son on the same day; if you see the donkey of your enemy fall under its load; and you should send away the mother bird) and some idiot rabbi totally missed the Ikar and decides that we can't eat milk and meat (later on Matityahu added chickens to the list even though you don't milk a chicken because of Mar'it Ayin) and was hated by the Rabbis (Perushim) so they concocted the candle story which never really happened because of their hatred towards the Tzedukim. Apparently the real miracle of the Exodus was how the Jews wandered for 40 years in the desert carrying 4 sets of dishes (meat, milk, and another full set for Pesach). The Torah then commands every male from 21 years old and up to join the army and defend the people. But the Haredim forget this pasuk. But that is okay because their kids sit in Yeshivot developing their Yashvanim while other Israeli kids in addition to school engage in sports and are great athletes. The physical condition of most of the Haredi kids make them totally worthless to IDF and the defense of Israel. It is time to realize that their are those in Judaism who obey the Torah as it was given by G-d and not perverted by the Jewish Taliban with their own agendas which is contrary to G-d's wishes.

Ban all the yeshivot these people were in for their racist sexist beliefs. Put the Rabbis in jail. Every child has the right to a secular education where they learn to laugh at the primitive beliefs of the religious. All children should be required to be in integrated secular schools. In order to bring peace between communities Jewish girls should be encouraged to date Arab boys in school. Make love not war.

either way.

Is the air thinner up there in the Golan? Your reality needs some oxygenation. Yes the majority of Tzahal is secular, especially the truck drivers and the jobniks. Compared to our percentage of the whole though, the Dals and Hardals are overrepresented, and the balance is changing in this direction, partly driven by demographics, and partly by ideology. In kravi, the growth sector is only in religious. So who is protecting whose arse. Who and what are they protecting when non of the best and brightest rise to high rank if he has a kippah srugah with some content under it? As to your complaint #5 (no where in the Torah) that place is Devarim 23:15. In this area, you are, unfortunately out of your depth.

1. Prove it. Where are you getting your facts from? 2. Prove it. Where are you getting your facts from? 3. True that many religious men sit and learn all day for many years (Ever try it? Think it's easy? Dare you to try for a week! You may even like it!). That is their belief and way of life. Clergymen worldwide are exempt from army duty. Religious people who do not learn full time, go to the army and do their duty to their country as well. I have many such neighbors. 4. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I served as a paramedic in a non-Jewish (mixed, oy vey!) ambulance service in America. Every person has to choose his/her own way of life. I may not agree with his/her decisions, but each person should be able to practice his/her own religious beliefs without being ridiculed and put down. 5. But you, of course, are superior to religious people who perhaps, you owe your life to...but I guess we'll both have to wait until we reach 120 years to find that out :-) I, as a religious person can well understand why religious soldiers want to attend all men classes. They are not shirking their duty, rather trying to live according to their religious values. Why can't we just respect them for who they are and let them get along with their army service? What is so wrong with that? BaGolan - before hauling off on the religious, do some serious homework and try to get to know some. On the whole we are peace-loving, caring people who do a tremendous amount of charity to anyone and everyone. We are not really all that bad as you and your society makes us out to be. Why not try to be objective and get to know us a little better rather than to glean all your information from the (one-sided) media. You may even get to like (some of) us :-)

One that approaches common sense , and a modicum of altruistic national concern. They need a new and mandatory well-rounded education that conforms to the needs of the nation, and that enables them to contribute on an equal basis with other productive members of the society, besides what they have achieved with religious education. One Jewish blood should not be given overall preference in general when it comes to military service and defence of the country, regardless of the small numbers of Haredi that choose to join. Even though the IDF can do without them, the demands for justice, fairness and balance require a need for everyone pulling their own weight during hostile times. I suggest that those not content with these prevailing theocratic practices involving religion and state, get behind Tommy Lapid and the SHINUI PARTY to make the necessary changes. How long this rediculousness continues is determined by how much you are willing to tolerate. I don't know how you have accepted this much for so long.

Prove it, Talula. I have spoken to many females who have served in the army. That is not what I hear from them. According to them, the army is really good at covering up a lot of deeds that are caused by soldiers unable to contain their urges. Many have suffered during their army service, whether emotionally and/or physically. Many female soldiers will say that they DO NOT belong in the army (and probably honest male soldiers would privately tend to agree, if they are the type who control their urges). And, as a reminder, this article did not talk about chareidi soldiers. Get your facts straight and reply in a coherent, logical manner. The soldiers in this article are not trying to shirk their duty. They are trying to live by their religious beliefs. Is that allowed? Or can only the secular people dictate how the religious should live?

Shulamit, Since you are so well versed in the religious "racist sexist beliefs", perhaps you want to share them with all the readers? Do you really claim to know anything at all about the Torah, the woman's place in religious society, and anything about religious beliefs other than what you read and hear about in the media? If not, check it out from the original source before you go and give your opinions which are supposedly based on "facts". BTW, why don't you go visit some of the Jewish girls who have married Arabs and see what happens to some of them? If you are interested, feel free to speak with a CHAREIDI organization called Lev L'Achim who work day and night to free these unfortunate women (religious or secular) from their misery?

Where are your statistics from? From the evidence of my own eyes I am inclined to go with #35's figures. BTW I live in Bnei Brak and I see precious few youngsters in military uniform and the only girls in uniform I've ever there are my own daughters.

Yes, of course you've 'only' spoken to females that have a different story. Save it for someone who cares. I don't. EVERY 18 year old needs to serve. No pathetic excuses. Just do it.

I think those of you making fun of the religious are missing the point of their protests. The point is that the observant boys want to resist temptation. Having a female instructor and/or mixed classes/training could expose the boys/men to temptations they don't want to be exposed to. If you were an alcoholic that wanted to stay alcohol free, you wouldn't want to be forced to go to a bar. For those of you that don't care to keep this level of discipline in your lives, it may seem silly, but please don't mock your fellow Jews. Have some understanding.

Like I always said, the phenomenon of refusal to serve on the Left would lead to refusal to serve on the Right. I guess you could call it a Counter-Deformation.