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Mutiny Fear In Israeli Army As Religious Zionists Gain Influence
In large study halls, ranks of young Jewish men are bent over religious books or debating in pairs the meaning of their texts. Many wear the large knitted kippa associated with the settler movement; a few have guns by their side.
This scene is typical in settlements all over the West Bank, where thehesder yeshiva movement has gained strength in recent decades. The programme, backed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), allows religious Jews to combine intensive theological study with a shortened period of military service over five years.
For these young religious Zionists, serving in the army to defend the state of Israel and the Jewish presence in the occupied West Bank is a crucial element of a theology that has the redemption of the biblical land of the Jews at its centre.
But some critics fear the influence and advancement of these highly motivated soldiers could turn the traditionally secular IDF into an ideological instrument and create conflicts over whether the men's duty is to obey their rabbi or their commanding officer.
Gabriel Slater, 20, a hesder yeshiva student who will begin army service within weeks, said the programme had helped him to develop strongly held ideological and religious goals. "I have deep beliefs and I'm going to the army to fulfil them," he said. He expected to face dilemmas – "moments of difficulty" – in the military and planned to consult his rabbi if he felt he was being asked to "cross a boundary".
The most apparent points of tension recently have concerned army ceremonies in which women soldiers take part in singing. Some rabbis advised religious soldiers to refuse to attend or to walk out, on the basis that women singing in front of men is forbidden under Jewish law.
But there are bigger questions about whether such soldiers will agree to participate in military operations to evacuate Jews from West Bank settlements, a small number of which have this year been declared illegal by Israel's supreme court. If there is ever a peace deal with the Palestinians requiring a large-scale evacuation of tens of thousands of settlers, the issue could become critical.
Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/11/mutiny-fear-israeli-army-zionists
