The Israel Defense Force is about to break a tradition that has governed it since the state was founded 43 years ago: It will now admit Arabs.
Dr. Alexander Blei, the prime minister’s adviser on Arab affairs, announced over the weekend that Arab citizens of Israel would be accepted as volunteers for the IDF.
At this stage, however, only Christian Arabs will be eligible. There are about 107,000 Christians out of an Israeli Arab population of 800,000.
Blei’s announcement drew a sharply negative reaction from Ibrahim Nimer Hussein, chairman of the National Committee of Arab Mayors. He objected to the artificial distinction between Christian and Moslem Arabs, noting that all are Arabs.
According to Hussein, no Arab should enlist in the IDF until there is peace in the region.
The only other minority allowed to volunteers are Bedouins, who serve in the IDF mostly as trackers. Israeli Druse and Circassians, on the other hand, are subject to compulsory military service, like the majority of Jewish citizens.
Blei said he asked Arab Christian leaders at a meeting in the Nazareth area last week to prepare the first list of volunteers.
Though he did not expect more than a dozen names, it is “a step forward toward institutionalizing the military service of the Christian community,” Blei explained.
He said the Arab recruits would be assigned to units on the basis of merit, like other soldiers.
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