Dear Friend of Israel,
We know your
heart is with us in Israel and we greatly appreciate your offer to
volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces. Your expression of solidarity with
the Jewish people and Israel means so much, especially at this time.
Among the thousands of Machal volunteers who came to defend the new born State of
Israel in 1947-9 there were many non-Jews. They made a tremendous and
meaningful contribution during Israel's War of Independence, for which Israelis
are very grateful and for which they will always be remembered.
Since then however,
the policy has been to restrict service in the armed forces to citizens of
Israel, Jews as well as Christians, Moslems,
Druze and others, and to non-Israeli Jews and their non-Jewish children and
grandchildren, so as to avoid placing at risk persons who do not have this
connection to Israel. In addition, the maximum enlistment date
limit is the 24th birthday for men, 21st for women and 36th for physicians.
Unfortunately no exception can be made.
You have the
opportunity, however, to take your place defending Israel on the ‘public relations front’. Today,
wars and battles are often won or lost on TV screens, in the minds and hearts
of good people. Therefore, public relations is no less
important than planes and tanks. You could, for example, volunteer to be a PR
Ambassador of Middle-East-Info.org
and explain to others what it means for Israel to be the
sole democracy in a region
comprising 23 dictatorships (including 5
out of the world's 7 state sponsors of terrorism and about half of the world’s major terror groups).
Of
the 19 most repressive regimes in the world, 7 are in Arab states and Iran.
Arab regimes and Iran are also a breeding ground for
advocating Jihad (Holy War)
against all non-Muslims (Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Animists and Jews
included) and openly seek world domination and the ultimate destruction of
freedom. The scourge of international terrorism and suicide bombings has
reached far beyond the United States, Europe and Israel. The combination of
these factors makes it more important than ever to be acquainted with the
reality of the Middle
East.
Finally, it
should be stressed that these same Arab and Iranian dictators oppress their own
citizens, threaten Israel and support global terrorism. The three
hundred and sixty million oppressed people living in Arab states and Iran have a right to the same freedom and
prosperity enjoyed by Europeans, Americans and Israelis.
We encourage
you to fill out and submit the PR Ambassador
Questionnaire of Middle-East-Info.org and start supporting democratic Israel and the struggle against tyranny.
On Mahal-IDF-Volunteers.org’s website there are links to other
popular volunteer programs in Israel.
Thanks again
for your kind offer to serve in the IDF. Again, we greatly appreciate your
desire to aid Israel by serving in the IDF and hope we could
help you to find other meaningful ways to channel your enthusiasm and good
will.
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Daniel Katz
Mahal-IDF-Volunteers.org – Guide & Assistant