Love of the Land: For G-d - or country?

For G-d - or country?

Stewart Weiss
JPost
23 November 09

The phrase "dual loyalty" is generally used to refer to Western Jews who must decide whether they support Israel, or the foreign country in which they reside.

But now, this same dilemma is occurring among our IDF soldiers, who increasingly are being asked to choose between the immutability of military orders, and their sacred religious obligations.

This is by no means a new phenomenon. There has always been a tug-of-war between the requirements of war and Halacha.

Observant soldiers, particularly in combat roles, face, early on, situations that present a clash of values: Is it permissible to violate the Shabbat - by riding in a vehicle, using a walkie-talkie, or missing prayers - while in the field? What if there is no time to don tefillin, or no succa to eat in on Succot? To what extent should one risk his life to extract a slain fellow soldier so he may be properly buried?

These and other potential conflicts have been researched by leading rabbis and written up in army manuals that are made readily available for observant recruits.

But now another flashpoint has developed; one that not only affects the individual chayal, but threatens the unity of the entire military structure: Can - or should - a soldier participate in the evacuation of a Jewish settlement, resulting in Israeli land being ceded to the Palestinians; or should the soldier refuse his orders on religious grounds?

This problem has become infinitely more acute since the 2005 disengagement - when Israeli soldiers participated in the eviction of the Jewish residents of Gaza - and is coming to a head over fears that the present government, under intense American pressure, may evacuate as many as 63 more Jewish communities in the West Bank and Jordan Valley.

Already, several soldiers have been jailed for holding up signs signaling their refusal to be part of such an action, and many more have gone on record - even before their induction - as saying they will decline, if asked, to be part of such a mission.

Related: Insubordination can save Israel

THE ARGUMENTS on both sides of this Gordian knot are powerful and persuasive. On the one hand, as part of its "purity of arms" policy, Israel has always allowed for conscientious objection to actions judged to be immoral or illegal. As a people who know all too well what atrocities can happen when soldiers "just follow orders," and we respect the right of individual soldiers to refuse to participate in extreme measures which they deem ethically unconscionable.

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Love of the Land: For G-d - or country?