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8 Av 5759 - July 21, 1999 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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News
Soldiers Participate in Missionary Programs in the Galil

by Betzalel Kahn

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."


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