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Orthodox officers lead military revolt against Israeli withdrawal
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
January, January 3, 2005
TEL AVIV — The planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern
West Bank in 2005 will have to overcome mass disobedience from within the military, including
the General Staff.
Officials said the opposition to the withdrawal stemmed from the rising
influence of Orthodox Jews in the military.
Many senior officers are Orthodox Jews and have objected
to the military's participation in the withdrawal operation, Middle East Newsline reported.
So far, about 5,000 people have signed a petition saying they would not
participate in any military operation to expel Israelis from the Gaza Strip
and northern West Bank. Organizers said the number of standing army
soldiers, reservists and officers who would disobey orders could increase by
ten-fold over the next six months.
The threat of a mass disobedience has included the chief military rabbi,
Brig. Gen. Yisrael Weiss.
Weiss, under pressure to resign by withdrawal
opponents, said he would quit his post if instructed by his mentor, former
Chief Rabbi
Avraham Shapira. Shapira has already called on soldiers to refuse withdrawal
orders.
"If it actually comes down to it [withdrawal], I will consult with the
Torah leaders and will hear their counsel," Weiss said. "At this point,
there is no point in firing up the public by making various statements that
have no immediate
significance."
Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said the military would fail in its
mission should thousands of soldiers refuse orders to evacuate the Israeli
residents. Boim and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon appealed to
withdrawal opponents to halt their campaign to encourage soldiers to refuse
expulsion orders.
"If this is the picture, it will be very difficult, even so that the
military would be unable to carry this out in accordance to the instructions
of a democratically-elected government," Boim said.
Officials said the military would be torn between orders to expel the
Israelis from their homes and battling Palestinian insurgents. On Sunday,
the military sent around 50 main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers
in the northern Gaza Strip to stop Kassam-class short-range missile strikes
against Israel. Less than 24 hours later, the military was ordered to
withdraw.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has examined a series of
recommendations to facilitate the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and
northern West Bank and the expulsion of about 10,000 Israeli residents from
these areas in September 2005. The recommendations envisioned the prospect
of massive resistance within the army, particularly from Orthodox Jewish
officers and soldiers.
Mofaz was said to be examining a
recommendation that would end the sponsorship of military preparatory
academies for Orthodox Jewish students. Many of the academies, located in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, have produced cadets who have become officers
and soldiers in elite combat units.
Mofaz has examined a four-stage plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and
northern West Bank. The plan was scheduled to begin in June 2005 and
completed by the end of the year, but military commanders have expressed
doubts whether this could be implemented.
"It is the biggest and most difficult mission we have ever undertaken,"
a senior Israeli military source said.
Officials said the military was authorized to plan and direct the
expulsion of the Israelis in what could turn out to be a bloody
confrontation. They said the military would use special police units to
actually remove the Israelis from their homes.
The report to the defense minister warned that the academies were
producing officers and soldiers more loyal to rabbis than to the military
tradition. There are about a dozen such Orthodox military academies in
Israel, financed by the Defense Ministry and Education Ministry.
Officials said Mofaz was warned that rabbis in these academies were
encouraging their students to refuse orders to evacuate Jews from their
homes. They said Mofaz was urged to halt financing to at least two such
academies.
At this point, aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have played down the
prospect of massive disobedience within the military. They pointed to
Sharon's meeting last week with brigade commanders in which they did not
report any trend of disobedience.
Israel's government was considering major changes in the
military to facilitate a withdrawal .
Officials said the changes could end more than 15 years of rising
influence by Orthodox Jews and Israeli residents of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip in the military. The measures could also reduce the recruitment of
Orthodox youngsters into elite combat units.
"The prime minister said that in approximately two weeks, the Cabinet
will hear the position of the security establishment on this issue and by
then the decision-making process will have been formulated," a Cabinet
communique said on Sunday.
Copyright © 2004 East West
Services, Inc.
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