The large number of rabbis who have recently joined the camp approving refusal proves that the teachers of religious Zionism have decided to enlist in managing the campaign of the Yesha settlers.
Following Rabbi Avraham Shapira's statement that it is the duty of soldiers to refuse orders to evacuate settlements, more and more rabbis are issuing no less forceful opinions in the same spirit. Two of the leading rabbis of the religious-nationalist community, Rabbi Zvi Tau and Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, who until a few months ago refused to countenance disobeying orders to evacuate settlers, now align with the proponents of refusal. Dozens of rabbis have signed an advertisement identifying with Rabbi Shapira's remarks, and there was another advertisement signed by 60 rabbis even before he spoke out.
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Some rabbis take pains to note that they support individual conscientious objection, not organized refusal. That's the position of Rabbi Aviner, who continues to oppose explicit refusal to obey orders. But he makes statements about "physical fatigue" or "emotional fatigue" that can lead to a lack of motivation, which makes it preferable, even desirable, not to follow orders to evacuate settlers. What is a soldier who is not "fatigued" supposed to understand from that kind of comment? That he gets a rabbinic "kashrut" certificate to refuse an order, but only if he dissembles and lies to his commanding officers.
The large number of rabbis who have recently joined the camp approving refusal proves that the teachers of religious Zionism have decided to enlist in managing the campaign of the Yesha settlers. So far there has been an assumption - at least, a reasonably based hope - that the rabbis, especially those heading the hesder yeshivot and the pre-army schools, would not take any action to subvert the army. That hope now lies dashed. When hundreds of rabbis preach to their followers that they should refuse orders, a dangerous threat to the discipline of thousands of soldiers in the army becomes unavoidable, undermining the army's strength.
There is an argument being made by a senior figure in the hesder yeshivot world that the debate about the refusal issue is premature and that the debate about the rabbis' statements is still irrelevant since the evacuation itself is far off - and not even certain. But is that so? As far as the settler leaders and rabbis are concerned, the debate is never too soon. On the contrary, as far as they are concerned, now is the time for the campaign in favor of refusal, because now is the time to create public and government fears of what might happen if there is a disengagement. As far as they are concerned, the time to try to obstruct the process is now - before any fateful decisions are made in the Knesset and the requisite legislation is passed.
The more the threat of refusal widens - and its damage could be enormous - the more important it becomes that the tactic should not deliver results for the settlers and their rabbis. Military leaders will decide, when the time comes, how to deal with refuseniks - presumably they will not turn a blind eye to mass infractions of discipline. But the refuseniks and refusals should not divert attention and effort from the main goal - to advance the disengagement plan and the evacuation of all the settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank, according to the original schedule.
The elected prime minister has made a clear decision, and it is nearly certain that next week the Knesset will follow, to make an historic change to the map of the country and free it from an unjustified, purposeless burden. Rabbis must not be allowed to foil that change
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