B"sd

The Commander-in-Chief

Gary Cooperberg

August 16, 2007

Since the recent rash of refusals by IDF soldiers to obey orders to throw Jews out of their homes in Hebron, most of our leaders have insisted that such behavior cannot be tolerated. Barak stated that only commanders, not rabbis, can issue orders to soldiers. And Netanyahu stated that all army orders must be carried out. While certainly every army needs to maintain discipline and cannot tolerate its soldiers making their own decisions on the battlefield, a sharp distinction must be made between orders given in an operation of battle with our enemies, and a political order which has nothing to do with defending the nation and which may conflict with moral and ethical standards.

In Nuremberg, Nazi soldiers argued that they had no choice but to murder Jews because they were given orders to do so. The court determined that there are circumstances which require soldiers to disobey orders. . . such as immoral or illegal orders. The soldiers should have known that an order to murder innocent civilians for the express purpose of murder is clearly wrong and should never have been carried out.

In a Jewish State, which is expected to hold a higher moral standard than most others, our army is expected to conduct its operations in accordance with Jewish Law as well as military law. There is no reason for a conflict. King David was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. His example serves as clear proof that there is no conflict between observing Jewish Law and conducting all the needed operations of an army. When a Jewish army conducts itself in a manner which conflicts with Jewish Law, it is that very conflict which endangers our society. Contrary to Baraks crude remarks, no Rabbi has issued orders to soldiers. There is no effort on the part of our religious leaders to compete with military commanders. But when our political leadership makes decisions which clearly conflict with Jewish morality, those decisions must be opposed by every Jew.

The soldiers who refused to oust fellow Jews from their homes in Hebron did not "endanger" Israeli democracy. . . they exercised and exalted it. To refuse to obey an order which goes against Jewish Law is not a right. . . it is an obligation. People like Barak, Olmert and Netanyahu mistakenly think that Israeli leaders are the ultimate authority and that their decisions must be followed under all circumstances. They also believe that Israel is just another country like all the rest and thus must behave just as all other countries do. This is the crux of our problems in Israel. Until our leaders recognize that this country was created to serve the Creator of the Universe, and, by so doing, bring genuine peace and morality to all of the nations of the world, we will continue to be plagued by terror and needless suffering. When Barak and his ilk eventually come to understand that the real Commander-in-Chief is the Living G-d of Israel, we will then see true victory on all fronts.

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