Dagan at reservists' protest tent: Burden distribution 'intolerable'

Mossad chief signs petition demanding gov't require all citizens to serve in army. 'Inequality result of problematic political system,' he claims

Boaz Fyler|Published: 04.23.12 , 21:36

Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan visited the IDF reservists' protest tent in Jerusalem Monday evening and signed a petition calling on the government to pass a law which would require all Israeli citizens to be drafted either into the IDF or a national service framework.

"We've reached an impossible situation whereby the distribution of the burden is unequal," Dagan said, "This is problematic."

The protest organizers said that so far more than 100,000 people have signed the petition and urged the public to support their cause. "Each additional signature will help create more public pressure and bring us closer to achieving this important goal," activist Idan Miller said.

מאיר דגן חותם במאהל הפראיירים (צילום: גיל יוחנן)

Dagan signing petition (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The reservists' tent, also called the "suckers' tent," was set up outside the Prime Minister's Office.

Dagan added: "I hope the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) will live up to his commitments and pass a (just) law. People must finally realize that this (inequality) is the price of our problematic political system, which allows groups to translate their political power to intolerable distortions.

"Entire groups within Israeli society are exempt from army service – this divides the nation. The distribution of the burden is not equal," he said.

The former Mossad chief said enlisting in the IDF "helps us bond as a Jewish and Israeli society. Everyone has to serve."

"The prime minister served in an elite unit and is a member of a bereaved family. He understands the price of this unequal distribution of the burden, and this is why I believe he truly wants to promote equal distribution of the burden," Dagan said.