Catholic Justice and Peace Commission Intervenes on the Recruitment of Christian Arabs into Israeli Army | Sojourners

Catholic Justice and Peace Commission Intervenes on the Recruitment of Christian Arabs into Israeli Army

The Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission of the Holy Land led by Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah has issued a statement against attempts by the Israeli Defense Force to begin conscripting Christian Muslims into the military, saying "the use of army service to divide the Arab population against itself is detrimental to the interests of the Arabs as a community." According to Agenzia Fides:
...The army is used as "an institution that promotes social cohesion" and a "principal place" of forming national consciousness and participating in the nation building project "as conceived by the authorities, i.e. promoting Israel as a Jewish national state". In this perspective, according to the Justice and Peace commisssion operating in the Holy Land, "talk about drafting of Christian Arabs rather than the Arabs in general - Muslims and Christians - is clearly an attempt to drive a wedge between Christians and Muslims in Israel". On addressing these delicate problems, the Church should keep in mind that "the army is used as a means of imposing and maintaining the occupation of Palestinian territories and thus preventing Palestinians from achieving dignity and independence". The army is primarily "an army of aggression rather than an army of defense". Therefore "the use of army service to divide the Arab population against itself is detrimental to the interests of the Arabs as a community."
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