New Christian Arab party calls for IDF enlistment

[Fozzledick]

‘Sons of the New Testament’ movement is latest expression of growing desire among country’s Christians to assert their Israeli identity

By Lazar Berman and Elhanan Miller July 10, 2013, 2:28 am

Christian Arab citizens of Israel are forming a new political party that calls for Arab enlistment into the IDF. The party’s Hebrew name — B’nei Brit Hahadasha — means “Sons of the New Testament,” although the word “allies” is hidden in the title as well.

The effort is part of a growing assertiveness on the part of Christian Arabs in the wake of the Arab Spring, as they increasingly sound calls for an identity distinct from Israel’s broader Arab society, which is around 90% Muslim.
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The violence against Middle Eastern Christians in the wake of the Arab Spring has likely pushed Israel’s Christians to more publicly express opinions considered unacceptable in Arab society. Coptic Christians in Egypt have faced attacks on churches and murders of priests since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011. In Syria, Orthodox and Catholic churches have been kidnapped, and Islamist rebels declare Sharia law on Christian villages that fall under their control. “People see what’s happening now in Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria,” said Shilyan. “They understand where we’re living.”

A similar process has taken place among Druze on the Golan Heights. According to government figures, 2012 showed a sharp several-hundredfold increase in requests by young Golan Druze for Israeli citizenship, as they come to the understanding that Israel offers them a future much brighter and safer than neighboring states.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-christian-arab-party-calls-for-idf-enlistment/

[pelsar]

1. boy thats really going to mess things up...

imagine more christians (they volunteer now) in the IDF, more muslims in the IDF (they are also increasing their involvement), more Druze........ homosexual and lesbians not even being an issue in the army, and now the haridim are being inducted...

sounds like JFKs "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" has a lot more meaning in israel than else where......

Not to mention how getting to know one another makes for better integration for a society and far less polarization....imagine a "progressive" actually having hardi or right wing friends, (horrors of horrors) the kind of thing that actually happens when people work together with common goals.
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not that it will change the demonization of israel.....or its original sin, its just means that those who actually live in the region are beginning to get a better idea of what stable democracies are all about and how they are to be defended and protected...