Bennett: Should Soldiers Voice Conscientious Objections?

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NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL THE ISRAELI ELECTION: 30

ISRAELSTREET endorses NAFTALI BENNETT for Prime Minister

Head of “HaBayit HaYehudi” (The Jewish Home) political party

UPDATE 9 pm Israel time Friday:

There have been no major terrorist events reported in the last 24 hours.

TODAY’S BLOG:

Naftali Bennett, whose picture has graced the top of this blog for the last three weeks, ignited a firestorm yesterday over comments that he made on the Israel Channel 2 television program Mishal Cham.

Bennett, as you may or may not know, served as a company commander in the Sayeret Matkal and Maglan–two of Israel’s most elite fighting units. Today he remains a major in the IDF reserves.

On the TV show, Bennett was asked whether, as a soldier, he would comply with an order to evict Jewish community members from their homes in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.

Bennett responded this way:

“If I receive an order to evict a Jew from his house and expel him, personally, my conscience wouldn’t allow it. I’d ask my commander to exempt me. But I wouldn’t publicly call for disobeying orders. 

An order over which a black flag flies shouldn’t be obeyed. Expelling people from this land is a terrible thing. I will work with all my soul and all my might not to let this happen. Conscientious objection is a built-in part of being a soldier.”

Bennett has been continuously excoriated from the moment that he made the comments until now. 
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For example, Labor leader Shelly Yachimovich offered this bit of sanctimonious claptrap:

[Refusing an order] undermines the democratic foundations of the country…and undermines the decisions of a democratic people.  .  . when disobedience is going against mainstream society and leadership, it endangers us as a society as a people and as a country.”

Undermines the decisions of a democratic people? Endangers us as a society?  Do we Israelis really want soldiers who blindly follow orders? Don’t we want soldiers who have a conscience?

Likud MK Gilad threw in his two self-serving cents:

“I am opposed to uprooting Jewish communities; however, this [Bennett’s] position is harmful. If you can justify conscientious objections, tomorrow Zehava Galon and left wing organizations will encourage soldiers not to serve in the territories.”

Here’s a message to Gilad: there are already Israeli soldiers who do not serve in the “territories” because of their conscientious objections.

In sum, if there are any persons in the world who should understand the importance of a soldier having the ability to refuse what he or she feels is an “unlawful” order they are Jews. How many times throughout history have Jews been persecuted, tortured, and killed by soldiers “following orders”?

What was the defense used by Nazis being tried for war crimes? “We were just following orders.”

In your humble servant’s opinion, Bennett’s comment comes from his deep commitment to moral military service–a commitment shared by all those in the IDF who have created what has been called “the most moral military in the world.”