Incentives to refuse

The Shefa Fund was established in 1988 to encourage American Jews to use their tzedakah (charitable resources) to create a more just society, and in the process, to transform Jewish life so that it becomes more socially conscious and spiritually invigorating. The Shefa Fund has grown to provide a range of progressive tzedakah financial services including socially responsible grantmaking, low-income community investing and funder education.

Yes, indeed. Among other more worthy projects, The Shefa Fund channels American donations to Olive Trees for Peace, Americans for Peace Now, Rabbis for Human Rights, Yesh Gvul and Courage to Refuse. The latter two (Israeli) organizations, as you can see for yourself, actively advocate the refusal of members of Israel's armed forces to serve in the disputed territories. According to David Bedein, Bureau Chief of the Israel Resource News Agency, they go beyond mere advocacy of such illegal actions and actually provide financial incentives to soldiers who break the law. That, says Bedein, raises some interesting questions.

The former Israel cabinet secretary Attorney Gideon Saar has written that the Israeli penal code defines those who will incite IDF soldiers to disobey orders as a felony crime which carries a penalty of seven years in jail upon conviction.

As a result, the Israel State Prosecutor's Office is considering taking legal action against organizations which have been conducting the current high profile campaign to encourage IDF soldiers to desert the IDF.

The question remains: Will the Shefa Fund organizers have the courage of their convictions to stand trial in Israel or will they continue to fund IDF troops to disobey orders from their diaspora peanut gallery in the comfortable Germantown community in Philadelphia?

The next interesting question might be: should American taxpayers be footing the bill to support the families of Israelis who refuse to serve their country or, to be more precise, who agree to serve their country only to the extent they approve of their orders? (Contributions to The Shefa Fund are tax-deductible.)

And for a peek into how the English speaking refuse-neck supporters scratch each other's backs, visit the discussion forum at the Courage to Refuse website. Unless, of course, you have something better to do -- which is extremely likely.