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IDF to draft celiac sufferers By Yuval Azoulay The Israel Defense Forces have decided to draft celiac sufferers for mandatory military service. Until now, the army had refrained from drafting people with celiac disease, primarily because of the difficulty in supplying them with suitable food. Celiac disease is a genetic disorder in which the immune system treats gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley and rye - as if it were a virus attacking the body. For those with the disorder, eating food that contains gluten can cause a severe allergic reaction. Advertisement The plan is to draft some 150 celiac sufferers each year, starting in 2009. With some 450 draftees by the third year, the army figures it will save up to NIS 40 million in salaries that it currently pays career army members to do the jobs the young recruits will perform. A Defense Ministry official said yesterday that the policy change is part of its cost-cutting efforts. Celiac sufferers have served in the IDF, before, but as volunteers, and they steered clear of mess halls. Now, defense officials promise, recruits will serve on closed bases and receive gluten-free catering. At open bases, they will get an allowance to buy gluten-free food. Their medical profile will be 45. Parents of children with celiac disease responded to the army's decision with mixed feelings. "It's hard for me to rely on the army in this matter," said Galit Moskowitz, mother of Noam, 12, and Shahar, 9. "We had a bad experience with the school lunch program. But it's a terrific breakthrough and I hope the army succeeds." Mira Levin of Even Yehuda was delighted for her 17-year-old daughter, Ofri. "I am in favor of drafting everyone, because that's the way we are: a Zionist family, that cares about contributing," Levin said. Ofri was also pleased. "I feel relieved," she said yesterday. "I was always afraid I wouldn't be able to serve in the army." Bookmark to del.icio.us   A second chance Parents shocked to see their baby breathing moments before she was to be buried. Kafka the Zionist Remnants of Kafka's estate found in T.A. raise questions of his belief in Zionism.

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