Religious Soldiers
Religious SoldiersFlash 90

The IDF reacted with strong opposition to a group founded by the Union of Community Rabbis headed by Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, claiming that the group invents false claims and is merely set on creating discord within the Army.

The group, known as "FIrst Draft," invites religious soldiers to file complaints with in the case that religious discrimination was experienced within an army framework.

"The IDF rejects any attempt at political intervention under the guise of aid to soldiers," an IDF spokesman said in response to the establishment of the group. "The IDF will continue to be a melting pot for all of Israeli society guard the State of Israel in its capacity as the Army of the State. It pains us that there are people opting to invent false claims whose only purpose is to create discord within the Army.

The IDF emphasized that all issues ought to be "solved by a commanding officer only, without fear and apprehension, and rejects any political intervention, so as to maintain the IDF as the official Army that holds by values."

We must note, however, that "First Draft" does not intend to compete with commanding officers within the army framework; rather, "its goal is to listen to claims from soldiers and to understand the problems existing today for a soldier who wants to maintain a religious lifestyle."

When asked why they don't rely on the IDF to take proper steps by itself, the group said, "first of all we rely on the IDF [as the default option]. That being said, in recent years we are witness to hundreds of verified incidents in which soldiers were forced to act against their consciences and were unaware of their rights.

"The changes the IDF has undergone in recent years have often caused conflicts that didn't exist before, and it seems that inattention caused many failures. "First Draft" sets for itself the goal of dealing only with the issues not hitherto dealt with through conventional army channels," the leaders of the new initiative asserted.