“For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.” (Isaiah 14:1)
The Knesset decided yesterday to establish a special committee to coordinate the integration of Israel’s Christians into the army. The Christian community in Israel is the only growing Christian community in the Middle East and this effort is a part of the army’s overall strategy to encourage greater participation from Israel’s minority populations.
Israeli Christians would join other minorities that are represented in the IDF such as many from the local Bedouin and Druze communities. Service in the IDF provides an opportunity for minorities to integrate into Israeli society and often can lead to better job opportunities both within and outside the military.
According to the representative of the Forum for the Enlistment of Christians Shadi Halul, ”As long as Israel continues to define the Christian population in Israel as an inseparable part of the Arab minority group, the integration of Christians into the IDF and in the state in general will continue to be a failure. You must understand that we are not Israeli Arabs. You need to separate us from the ”Arab” group. We have a different history, tradition, culture, mentality and language. The Christian youth understand what the state gives them as opposed to what they may receive from the Arab countries. Israel is a just state and we must integrate into it. If the state relates to us in a different way from the Arabs of Israel then the percentage of enlistment into the IDF will be 100. Israel is responsible for us and not anyone else, not the PA and not any religious figure. ”
Knesset Member Israel Hasson commented that, ”The time has come for Israel to take responsibility and to establish the enlistment obligation for Bedouins in the North as well as Christians…This has incredible importance. We must not be afraid. We must strive forward and not miss the opportunity.”
Earlier, BIN reported that Israeli Christians are expressing greater interest in IDF enlistment, breaking a decades-long taboo among Israel’s Arab community. Leading the charge is the Greek Orthodox Father Gabriel Nadaf and Bishara Shylan, a Christian shipbuilder from Nazareth who has formed a new political party to promote Christian identity and values.
Editor: Should the Jewish army open its ranks to non Jewish soldiers? Comment below!
