Yoni Kahane, 18, of Netanya, one of the organizers, spoke with Arutz-7 about the idea. "We expect thousands more to join up," he said.
The declaration is headlined, "We're not enlisting in the IDF, the army of expulsion and destruction!"
It continues, "I will object to serving in an army that expelled Jews from their homes, an army that fights its nation, that burned [sic] synagogues and yeshivot, that destroyed the lives of 15,000 Jews in the Land of Israel, whose actions strengthened the terrorists..."
The signatories are asked to supply their full name, ID number, birthdate, and phone number.
Kahane said that most of the signatories thus far are religious, "of all types - hareidi who meant to enlist in the army, religious-zionist, etc. A small number are from Gush Katif."
He explained that according to law, "low motivation" is sufficient reason to be exempted from serving in the army. Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked, "And if this exemption is not granted to you, what will you do - go to jail?"
"Each person will react how he sees fit," Kahane said. "We have not gone into such details. [The point is that] these people have put their names and ID numbers out in the open, and the army now knows that we are potential soldiers with low motivation - which the army usually does not want to take."
Segal said, "Whether we like it or not, the disengagement is behind us, it's a fact. But the State of Israel still has many enemies. If a large public doesn't enlist in the army, who will protect the country?"
Kahane: "...The fact that the army provides relative protection - not enough, in our opinion - for its citizens, does not enable it to expel and destroy Jewish lives. By doing that, the army has become 'disqualified' in our eyes, even if it tries to protect Jews in normal times. We're not coming to destroy the army; we're not telling soldiers to desert or anything. We're just talking about those who are about to enlist, and feel that they cannot do so. Part of our motivation for doing this is for the future, that if government considers similar steps of expulsion in the future, it will know how to act."
Reactions from the left-wing were disdainful, as expected, but were not particularly supportive from the right-wing either.
Meretz MK Ran Cohen reacted with anger, saying it was another manifestation of right-wing extremism led by rabbis.
MK Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) released the following statement: "Refusal is dangerous, and it doesn't matter which side [of the political spectrum] it comes from. National security is founded on the IDF, and refusal is a direct hit at it, and cannot be tolerated."
Pinchas Wallerstein, a leading Yesha Council figure, was more understanding of the signatories' plight: "I am aware of [these] calls," he told Ynet, "but as I see it, these are part of the anger and frustration, and nothing more. It still hasn't come to fruition. It's clear that there are some real dilemmas, but we're still close to the actual event. Our job today is to talk, to hear our people, to clarify our limits as citizens in a state that, it is felt, has betrayed us, with the cooperation of the media and the judicial system. Our job is to change [things]; we must not detach ourselves."
MK Effie Eitam (National Religious Zionist Renewal Party), a Brig.-Gen. in the reserves, said that the pain is genuine, but that the youth's conclusion is mistaken.
The declaration is headlined, "We're not enlisting in the IDF, the army of expulsion and destruction!"
It continues, "I will object to serving in an army that expelled Jews from their homes, an army that fights its nation, that burned [sic] synagogues and yeshivot, that destroyed the lives of 15,000 Jews in the Land of Israel, whose actions strengthened the terrorists..."
The signatories are asked to supply their full name, ID number, birthdate, and phone number.
Kahane said that most of the signatories thus far are religious, "of all types - hareidi who meant to enlist in the army, religious-zionist, etc. A small number are from Gush Katif."
He explained that according to law, "low motivation" is sufficient reason to be exempted from serving in the army. Arutz-7's Haggai Segal asked, "And if this exemption is not granted to you, what will you do - go to jail?"
"Each person will react how he sees fit," Kahane said. "We have not gone into such details. [The point is that] these people have put their names and ID numbers out in the open, and the army now knows that we are potential soldiers with low motivation - which the army usually does not want to take."
Segal said, "Whether we like it or not, the disengagement is behind us, it's a fact. But the State of Israel still has many enemies. If a large public doesn't enlist in the army, who will protect the country?"
Kahane: "...The fact that the army provides relative protection - not enough, in our opinion - for its citizens, does not enable it to expel and destroy Jewish lives. By doing that, the army has become 'disqualified' in our eyes, even if it tries to protect Jews in normal times. We're not coming to destroy the army; we're not telling soldiers to desert or anything. We're just talking about those who are about to enlist, and feel that they cannot do so. Part of our motivation for doing this is for the future, that if government considers similar steps of expulsion in the future, it will know how to act."
Reactions from the left-wing were disdainful, as expected, but were not particularly supportive from the right-wing either.
Meretz MK Ran Cohen reacted with anger, saying it was another manifestation of right-wing extremism led by rabbis.
MK Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) released the following statement: "Refusal is dangerous, and it doesn't matter which side [of the political spectrum] it comes from. National security is founded on the IDF, and refusal is a direct hit at it, and cannot be tolerated."
Pinchas Wallerstein, a leading Yesha Council figure, was more understanding of the signatories' plight: "I am aware of [these] calls," he told Ynet, "but as I see it, these are part of the anger and frustration, and nothing more. It still hasn't come to fruition. It's clear that there are some real dilemmas, but we're still close to the actual event. Our job today is to talk, to hear our people, to clarify our limits as citizens in a state that, it is felt, has betrayed us, with the cooperation of the media and the judicial system. Our job is to change [things]; we must not detach ourselves."
MK Effie Eitam (National Religious Zionist Renewal Party), a Brig.-Gen. in the reserves, said that the pain is genuine, but that the youth's conclusion is mistaken.