What will happen if a Haredi refuses to enlist because he wants to learn Torah
Meet
Natan Blanc. Blanc is 20-years old and was pronounced unfit for duty on Thursday, six months after walking into an IDF recruitment station and announcing his refusal to serve because he objects to the 'occupation.' In the interim, Blanc has been arrested nine times and will have served 177 days in jail by his release next Thursday.
Blanc has openly declared himself to be a conscientious objector, and
never tried to take the route of evasion taken by other recruits, such
as securing a lower physical or mental profile.
The committee made its recommendation on Thursday following Blanc's second appeal for exemption.
He
first appeared before the committee on February 21, and was advised to
fulfill his obligation by doing alternative service in a civilian
hospital. Blanc happily accepted the decision, since he had already
declared his intention to volunteer for national service with Magen
David Adom when he first refused.
On
February 24, the committee rejected his request to avoid military
conscription. The committee is headed by Lt. Col. Yossi Malcha, who also
heads the conscription reinforcement in the human resources department.
Malcha is also the commander that sentenced Blanc the last three times.
Over the last decade, the IDF largely refrained from repeatedly putting conscientious objectors on trial.
And what will happen if a Haredi walks in and calls himself a 'conscientious objector' because he believes that his task in life is to learn Torah full time? Before you all jump up and say 'But Blanc is volunteering for Magen David Adom,' the IDF rejected that solution and it does not appear to be part of his current release. Not to mention that one has to wonder what would happen if, as a Magen David Adom volunteer, Blanc is asked to treat a revenant.
Hmmm.
Labels: Haredim, IDF, Magen David Adom
Day after day... 'Palestinians' throw stones at Magen David Adom ambulances
Maybe we should just let injured 'Palestinians' die if their comrades continue to behave this way....
Jameel reports on a recent outbreak of incidents in which Magen David Adom
ambulances have been stoned.
In what has become a daily occurrence, Palestinians are routinely
throwing rocks at Magen David Adom ambulances, smashing windshields and
seriously endangering the MDA medical crews.
Despite that MDA ambulances and medics treat wounded without bias to
race or religion, Palestinians target these life saving efforts, even
when the wounded are Palestinians.
Over the past few days:
Continue reading
here. I think it's absurd for emergency workers to have to risk their lives to save the same savages who are assaulting them.
Labels: ambulance, Magen David Adom, Palestinian terrorism, stone throwers
'Palestinians' would rather die than be treated by Jews
A Magen David Adom medic was
nearly lynched by 'Palestinians' at an accident scene just outside Jerusalem on Tuesday. Akiva Novick reports:
Upon reaching on the scene the crew began treating two young women who were hurt in the crash. But their efforts were interrupted with the arrival of the victims' family members, whose misguided attempts to defend the women quickly turned violent.
"Suddenly, a Volkswagen came to a screeching halt and three Arab youths emerged," said S., a paramedic. "They started to curse and tried to discern who hurt the women."
The crew's account of the accident failed to pacify the enraged men, who upped the verbal attack.
"They started cursing the IDF, Magen David Adom and everything affiliated with the state," S. said. "They called us 'maniacs and f***ing Jews.' We were shocked by how angry they were."
Meanwhile, more Palestinians gathered around them. When some began hitting the ambulance, the paramedic took charge of protecting his crew mates – a female driver and a 16-year-old male volunteer.
"I told them to lock themselves in the ambulance while I remained outside to deal with the situation," S. said, "The attackers cursed and pushed me. At one point more than ten people surrounded me and began punching me in the ribs and the head."
Three Arabs are to be indicted on Friday in connection with this incident, which took place on Tuesday. All three are Jerusalem residents. Maybe Magen David Adom should stop responding to accident scenes where all the victims are 'Palestinians,' at least in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria? I know - we're most unlikely to do that, but we apparently have to give our medics some better ways to protect themselves than this.
Labels: Magen David Adom
A field hospital on the Golan?
Lenny Ben David proposes establishing an
IDF field hospital on our border with Syria to treat Syrians wounded in the current uprising. (The picture above is the IDF field hospital that was set up in Haiti a couple of years ago after the earthquake).
Israel should consider the establishment of a large field hospital at the Golan Heights crossing between Syria and Israel at Majdal Shams on the Syrian side of the border. The United Nations Disengagement Observation Force, UNDOF, located on the Golan since 1974, could provide the diplomatic cover. The Red Cross – if given access through a safe corridor – could provide ambulances to move wounded from devastated Daraa in southern Syria or from the nearby Kuneitra region where fighting was reported earlier this week.
To avoid another Syrian and Iranian-directed “civilian” march on Israel’s defense lines, like the June 2011 attempt, the field hospital must be on the Syrian side.
Only a small percentage of the residents of Majdal Shams, the Druze town under Israeli control since 1967, have accepted Israeli citizenship. Few of the Druze residents serve in the Israeli army. The town may be viewed by Syria’s Assad junta as relatively neutral. At the same time, Israel’s Druze community could serve as the public face of the medical efforts, while the IDF’s vaunted medical corps could provide experienced medical personnel.
More than a decade ago the United States pre-positioned military field hospitals in Israel for use by the U.S. military or Israel in the event of a regional emergency. The carnage in Syria is precisely such an emergency.
For the world community, accused of abandoning the innocent civilians of Syria, the Golan medical initiative would provide a first step in meeting their responsibility. For Assad, it releases some of the world pressure without surrendering territory to the Syrian Free Army. And for Israel, it provides another tangible sign of peaceful intentions to the Arab world – already secretly sending some of its sick and impotent (yes, that kind of impotence) to Israeli hospitals.
And the arguments against this? First, I think Assad would try to convince everyone that the field hospital on the Syrian side of the border is an Israeli invasion, and would attack it as one. Of course, if you put it on the Israeli side of the border, no one treated would ever return to Syria - at least so long as Assad is in power.
Second, I would guess that the entire Syrian side of the border is mined. Heck, much of the Israeli side of the border is mined because the IDF didn't want to spend the personnel to defuse all the mines after 1967! But if the Syrians are mining their borders with Lebanon and Turkey to prevent their citizens from escaping, do you think they haven't already mined their border with Israel?
Third, it's highly unlikely that the Red Cross would work with Israel, and even more unlikely that they would be willing to do so in a manner that would allow Israel to take any credit, and maybe even more unlikely that they'd work with the IDF in an Arab country. Recall that we're not allowed to use the red Magen David - the only medical symbol that's identifiable with Israel - in any project involving the Red Cross.
So sure, go ahead and make the offer, but if it's accepted, don't expect to get any thanks for it. As Dale Carnegie said, if you don't expect any thanks, you'll never be disappointed.
Labels: Golan Heights, IDF, Magen David Adom, Syrian uprising
Outrageous: MDA removes logo from ambulances in Judea and Samaria
Four months ago, Magen David Adom - the local equivalent of the Red Cross - denied that its ambulances were being made to
look like the one above when deployed in Judea and Samaria. Now,
MDA has admitted it lied.
The Red Cross representative confirmed on Israel Army Radio that MDA has agreed to remove its logo from its ambulances in Judea and Samaria and has committed itself to avoid providing service to these areas. As a result of the agreement between MDA and the PA Red Crescent, MDA will receive international recognition as an emergency response organization, with benefits and budgets unavailable until now.
MKs Dr. Michael Ben Ari and Dr. Aryeh Eldad (National Union) call upon the worldwide supporters of MDA to avoid financial and blood donations to the organization. Blood donations can be made directly to the Hospital blood banks.
Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) is
furious.
MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) responded to the Red Cross representative confirmation that MDA will no longer provide service beyond the Green Line. “MDA lied when it said the agreement with the Red Cross and the Red Crescent wouldn’t affect service to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
“MDA must announce that the agreement is void. Otherwise, we will call upon all MDA donors to send their money to emergency response organizations that do not cater to anti-Israeli demands. We will also act to cancel the status of MDA as the national rescue organization, and to take away its rights and State financial support."
As I wrote four months ago, it's time for MDA to leave the Red Cross permanently.
Labels: ambulance, International Committee of the Red Cross, Magen David Adom
Time for Israel to leave the International Red Cross
One of my kids told me this week that one of her friends who volunteers for 'Mada' (Magen David Adom) told her that the group was removing all the logos from its ambulances. That seemed a bit exaggerated, but there apparently is something to it. 'Mada' has been removing the red Magen David (Star of David), pictured at top left, from the ambulances that operate across the 1949 armistice lines, and replacing them with 'logos' like the one pictured below.
Ambulances operating beyond the Green Line were asked to undergo supposedly routine maintenance checks, but emerged without their logo.
Instead, a white six-pointed star outline framing the Rod of Asclepius symbol of medicine was featured against a red circular background, surrounded by inscriptions proclaiming the vehicle as municipal. Formal affiliation with MDA was erased.
'Formal affiliation'? More like any affiliation. Get a load of this (Hat Tip for Photo:
MR (Daughter #3, Child #5).
Reminds you of those
countryless passports and White House records, doesn't it?
Some of you might recall that Israel first applied to be admitted to the International Red Cross in 1949 and
it took until 2006 for us to get admitted. The reason it took so long was because Magen David Adom refused to adopt the Red Cross or the Red Crescent as its symbol (for obvious reasons). The Red Cross, which was
founded by a Christian Zionist, has a nasty history when it comes to Jews and the Jewish state. Aside from its absurd refusal to admit Magen David Adom for more than 50 years, it sat on the sidelines during the Holocaust, until they
issued a passport to Adolf Eichmann allowing him to escape to Argentina when the war ended. The Red Cross has also arranged
housing for terrorists in Gaza and helped
Hezbullah terrorists escape from the IDF in Lebanon. In the more than five years that Gilad Shalit has been held prisoner in Gaza, the Red Cross has filed one request to see him, and that was just a few weeks ago.
So why does Israel want to belong to this organization? That's a
good question.
By removing its symbol and visible evidence of connection with beyond-Green-Line rescue services, MDA seemed to cave in to pressure. It also appeared to acquiesce to the contention that 1949’s armistice lines are Israel’s recognized boundaries and that anything beyond is Palestine.
Embarrassed by the commotion, MDA explained away the logo-switch subterfuge as a decision to remove its traditional emblem from all community-owned ambulances, although invariably these are jointly operated with MDA.
To deflect domestic criticism, MDA subsequently promised to switch logos on all local authority-owned ambulances, regardless of which side of the Green Line they’re from. Inside-Green-Line vehicles may even be face-lifted first.
But such bureaucratic acrobatics don’t change the fact that MDA bends over backward to please the Red Cross by altering the status quo. Whether this will affect some ambulances also within the Green Line is immaterial. The MDA is complying in some measure with Red Cross demands in accordance with the humiliating compromise concocted almost six years ago.
...
If ever an organization existed that didn’t merit Israeli concessions, it’s the Red Cross. It notoriously remained aloof to Jewish bloodletting throughout the Holocaust.
ICRC Archives director George Willemin delivered World War II documents to Yad Vashem in 1997 and declared: “The ICRC admits that it kept silent.... This is the heart of its moral failure.”
Our officialdom’s meek submission to the disgraceful logo-substitution and the alacrity to broker deals at any cost isn’t pragmatism. Compromise without honor isn’t necessarily prudent.
We’d be better off without whatever benefits Red Cross association provides rather than maintaining membership under shameful conditions. We had managed quite nicely outside the Red Cross. We can carry on as well without it. There’s no ignominy in not belonging to an organization that accords full membership to such benefactors of humanity as North Korea, Iran, Syria and Sudan.
Groucho Marx famously said "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." It's time for Israel to tell the Red Cross, thanks, but no thanks.
Labels: Magen David Adom, Red Cross
