The question of IDF soldiers refusing to obey orders is a very difficult issue to address, especially among those of us who believe in a strong Jewish State. Soldiers in the Jewish army are putting their lives at stake for the well-being of the people of Israel. For over 50 years, they've had to deal with real life and death situations every day, fighting Arab armies and terrorists who never cease to try to put an end to the Jewish state and to kill Jews. Within the army, there are no people more dedicated, nor more willing to sacrifice their own lives for the continuation of the State of Israel, than Torah-observant Jewish nationalists.



In the present situation, where the government threatens to send in soldiers to demolish Jewish towns, to uproot Jews from their homes, and to lift their hand against Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel, the dilemma is very severe. Jewish nationalists who, by belief and by nature, want to abide by the law and to support the government have been backed into a corner. They've been forced to speak out against the government's plans and to call on soldiers to disobey orders. Because of this, some Jewish nationalists are now being threatened with legal action by the state.



The issue centers on calling for soldiers to disobey their orders, but this is also a matter of hypocrisy in a supposedly democratic country. We see and hear the hypocritical left-wing speakers and activists of the "peace" camp saying it's wrong for soldiers to disobey orders. But anyone with a memory longer than 8 or 9 months can look back into newspaper clippings and see all of these same leaders, many of them in government positions, supporting soldiers who said they would disobey orders to go out, fight for and protect the people of Israel against terrorism.



For example, some Israeli air force pilots sent a letter saying that they, themselves, would determine whether to go out on missions to bomb terrorist camps and hiding places in Gaza. Almost immediately after leaving his government position, Michael Ben-Yair, the former attorney general of Israel, came out as a major spokesman for soldiers who refused to obey orders to fight for Israel. Ami Ayalon, head of the General Security Services (Shabak), also supported soldiers who refused to follow orders. When questions were raised about government officials such as Ben-Yair and Ayalon calling on soldiers to disobey orders, the present attorney general, speaking for the government, said there was no need to hound them and that they have the democratic right to voice their opinion. They have now completely reversed their position, but only when it comes to patriotic Jewish nationalists.



Now that thousands of soldiers have declared they won't take part in the immoral and illegal act of uprooting Jews from the Land of Israel, these same government officials want to bring charges against activists like Nadia Matar, Noam Livnat and Daniella Weiss, who call for soldiers to refuse orders to lift a hand against their brothers.



It is morally correct, and a settled matter of international law, for soldiers to disobey illegal orders, especially when directed against civilian populations. But even without the precedents of international law, ordering Jewish soldiers to lift their hands against Jewish settlers, the pioneers of Israel, is against the fundamental Zionist principles that brought Israel into existence, against the basic laws of the State of Israel and against the basic laws of the Torah. From many different perspectives, such orders are illegal. But more than that, it is politically corrupt and nationally wrong to send soldiers out on such a dirty task.



As a rule, soldiers must carry out orders. However, in the surreal circumstances in which Israeli soldiers are sent out to lift a hand against the core of our faith, it is immoral and illegal to carry out these orders. Soldiers must refuse these orders. By signing up thousands of soldiers who agree to refuse, a clear message is being relayed to the government of Ariel Sharon - he won't be able to enlist the manpower to destroy the dream of the people of Israel.