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<DIV>In Avodah Digest, Vol 25, Issue 107 dated 3/24/2008 "Michael Makovi"
<mikewinddale@gmail.com><BR>writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2><BR>>>The idea of Jews fighting each other for Germany and
England (or for<BR>the Union and Confederacy in the American Civil War) is
absolutely<BR>contrary to Judaism. B'vadai (IMHO), if I personally feel the
German<BR>or the British cause is true and moral and the other side is in
the<BR>wrong and immoral, then I can fight for it, and the fact that
there<BR>are Jews on the opposing side is irrelevant - IMHO - I am not
fighting<BR>for Germany or Britain per se, but rather for whatever moral
cause<BR>Britain or Germany represents, and any Jews I am fighting are
ones<BR>that are opposing what is moral....<BR><BR><BR>Obviously, if the
country's cause is immoral, then it is irrelevant<BR>whether I will fighting
Jews - if it is wrong, then fighting for it is<BR>to fight Judaism itself
regardless of whether I am fighting against<BR>any actual Jews on the opposing
side. Therefore, I am assuming a war<BR>with no moral claim for or against -
you are fighting for a morally<BR>ambiguous cause, solely because your country
is, and you are fighting<BR>against Jews on the other side - this a Jew cannot
do.<BR><BR>If the war is moral, then you are fighting for a moral cause and
any<BR>opposing Jews are irrelevant, and if the war is immoral, then you
are<BR>fighting Judaism itself, and any opposing Jews are
irrelevant.....<<<BR><BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV>All of this exquisitely sensitive "if this, then this but if that, then
that" reasoning is a pure luxury possible only in an exceptionally prosperous
and exceptionally free country like modern-day America -- the first great
world power in history to give its citizens a /choice/ as to whether or not
they want to be in the army. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In every other country that Jews have ever lived in -- including America
during the Civil War and WWII -- Jews were drafted along with all other
citizens, and were not given a choice, and one does hear stories of Jews
facing each other on opposite sides of a battle. (Generally Jewish loyalty
to other Jews trumped loyalty to whatever country's uniform they happened
to be wearing -- quite properly -- and a Jew who heard an enemy soldier recite
Shema Yisrael would hold his fire.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>No posek that I've ever heard of ruled that Jews who are citizens of a
given country must make an independent judgement as to whether their country is
fighting a just cause before agreeing to be drafted, or must allow themselves to
be imprisoned or executed as draft dodgers if they are unconvinced of their
country's justice. The Chofetz Chaim wrote a sefer for Jewish soldiers
drafted into whatever army -- it's called Machane Yisrael -- and afaik it does
not say that a Jew must be a draft dodger if he thinks his country is
wrong. (OTOH it goes without saying that any Jew who could
get out of serving in the Russian or Polish army would get out of it --
because these armies were rife with anti-Semitism and forced shmad.)</DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><B><BR></B><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============<BR></B><BR></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Planning your summer road trip? Check out <A title="http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016" href="http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016" target="_blank">AOL Travel Guides</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>