In response to a video that has been circulating on Youtube that shows IDF soldiers running from an Arab mob throwing stones and rocks, an IDF soldier who lives in Yitzhar has posted his own video – in which he says that he will refuse to obey orders to “restrain himself” if he finds himself attacked by Arabs.
The soldier, Yohai Ma'ayan, went AWOL last month when he feared he would be sent to evict Jews from a neighborhood in Yitzhar. He is back on duty, and in the video he is seen wearing his uniform. “When I joined the IDF I was sure it knew how to subdue the Arab enemy,” Ma'ayan says in the video. “This week a video showed that things are not quite like that. But the soldiers seen running away are fleeing not because they don't have the weapons and ability to defend themselves, but because of commanders' orders. When I am in that situation I will refuse to follow those orders. When I am in the middle of an Arab riot, they will be the ones running away. And when I finally catch them,” he said, “there will be nowhere for them to run.”
An IDF source told reporters Thursday that Ma'ayan, who was drafted in July, had already been in the brig twice for violating orders, and that his latest stunt was likely to get him tried and jailed a third time.
A source said that the video had been funded and promoted by an organization called “Serving with Faith,” which last week distributed literature calling on soldiers to violate orders against reacting when Arabs riot.
The organization also calls on youth to fight against the removal of Jews from their homes. “If you believe that IDF equipment to be used to destroy Jewish homes must be stopped from operating, and if you believe that a mere cup of sugar can stop the tractors that are being used to destroy those homes, you are not alone,” the literature says. A report said that several of the organization's activists distributed flyers with the group's message at the IDF induction center in Tel Hashomer earlier this week.
An IDF source said that the army “condemned the refusal to obey orders, and we will act harshly in all cases where soldiers refuse to obey orders.”