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Who in Israel decides who must enlist in the army?

Israel allows Orthodox men and women to avoid IDF drafting, but imprisons conscientious objectors who refuse to enlist in the occupation army.
An Israeli soldier passes a demonstration by left-wing Israelis calling on army recruits to refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories, as they protest outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv 18 March 2004. AFP PHOTO/Tal COHEN        (Photo credit should read TAL COHEN/AFP/Getty Images)

On April 21, masked young men from a wildcat West Bank settlement calling itself the Baladim outpost pelted an Israeli army patrol with stones. Before that, the settlers used clubs and stones to attack Israeli peace activists who shielded Palestinian shepherds with their bodies. Several activists were wounded. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman issued a stern statement condemning the attack. He pledged “zero tolerance for violence.” The minister demanded that law enforcement authorities bring the thugs who attacked the military patrol to justice. “This is a serious phenomenon that we cannot tolerate,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page. Not a word about the violence against the Palestinian shepherds or any wishes for a speedy recovery to their wounded Israeli protectors. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who never misses an opportunity to lash out at leftists, didn’t even condemn the attack on the soldiers.

It’s safe to assume that just as in dozens of previous instances, the coming Jewish Sabbath will also be dedicated to attacking shepherds and Israeli volunteers. The soldiers who show up at the site (late, as always) in an armored vehicle will chase away the settlers until the next attack, or until the shepherds are once and for all uprooted from their land — whichever comes first. The criminals know that the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will always be there for them. The best and brightest of the democratic Jewish state have been carrying out this despicable task for 50 years. In kindergarten, they were already being taught that the IDF is the “people’s army” and the Palestinians are the people’s enemy. And their Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, of the right-wing, pro-settlement HaBayit HaYehudi party, says God only gave the land to us, and, therefore, we as a nation cannot be considered occupiers of our own land.

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