Last Monday, Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz demanded of Ehud Barak, who
is both Prime Minster and Security Minister, that all
missionary activity in the IDF be halted immediately. Rabbi
Ravitz made this demand in the wake of a document he received
which contained a report of missionary activity among the IDF
soldiers, as part of an "informative educational" program for
them. According to the document, these programs are even
subsidized and coordinated by the IDF.
An IDF spokesman verified that the soldiers are indeed
exposed to Christian information programs. The organization,
which operates in the Galil, invited the soldiers to take
part in cultural activities which are subsidized and
coordinated by the IDF as part of its educational and
cultural programs.
In his letter to Prime Minister Barak, Rabbi Ravitz writes
that in his opinion, "Jewish mothers who send their sons to
serve in the army do not want them to be exposed to
missionary influences. I know about young Jews who were
influenced by such activity, and left the fold." He then
added that it is especially wrong of the army to subsidize
and coordinate missionary activities and called upon Barak to
issue an order to halt such activity in the army immediately,
whether or not they are subsidized by the IDF.
Rabbi Ravitz pointed out the ironic fact that the IDF doesn't
allow religious Jewish organizations or personalities to
deliver Torah classes in the IDF, while at the same time it
does allow Christian missionary activity.
An IDF spokesman said: "The document refers to a site which
is open to soldiers, as are many other sites throughout the
country. These sites were checked and found suitable for
visits by soldiers of the IDF. The activities at the site
involve viewing an audio-visual presentation which describes
the history of the Galil from a number of perspectives, among
them the Christian one."
The IDF spokesman added that, "As is customary, the sites to
be visited are chosen by the commanders of the bases. The IDF
doesn't enable any missionary activity in the framework of
its own activities. The material at the site in question is
not missionary, but educational."
