A young Arab national service volunteer
Gil Nahushtan
Arab-Israelis won't be able to fight their brothers
Op-ed: Israel's Arabs cannot serve in an occupying army at a time of war; national service also out of the question
We are a part of the Palestinian nation, and there is no way we will ever fight our Palestinian brothers.
As a resident of Majd al-Krum in the Galilee, I vehemently oppose the idea of recruiting Israel's Arabs to the IDF. Performing national service is also out of the question, because we believe that its purpose is to eventually lead us to serve in the army.
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Hassan Shaalan
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The tensions within the Plesner Committee bring to mind the Or Commission, which investigated the death of 13 of our brothers during the October 2000 events. The commission determined that the State must not put the Arabs' loyalty to the test.
It also determined that the State must not require Arabs to enlist in the army. By doing so, it supported our sense that joining the army would be impossible – both morally and from the standpoint of our national identity.
We cannot serve in an occupying army at a time of war.
The stalemate in the peace negotiations will also make it difficult for Israeli Arabs to enlist. We have many grievances against the Israeli occupation, the injustice caused to the Palestinian people by the Zionist movement and Israel's continued disregard for all the international resolutions that were passed in order to reach a compromise between both nations.
With all due respect to those who are in favor of recruiting Arabs, it is impossible – due to all the aforementioned reasons.
