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Jerusalem - IDF to Emboss Ten Commandments Emblem on Military Korans |
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The IDF provides Korans for its Muslim soldiers. These include Bedouins, as well as non-Bedouin Muslim Arabs, who have served in the IDF as trackers and in other combat roles since its earliest days.
The idea for embossing the emblem on IDF Korans was brought up by the Chief Jewish Chaplain for the French Army, Maj.-Gen. Rabbi Haim Corsia, who visited the IDF last week. Corsia noticed that the IDF Rabbinate emblem is embossed upon the prayer books that the army hands out to religious Jewish soldiers, but does not appear on military Korans.
Rabbi Corsia pointed out the matter to the IDF’s Chief Rabbi, Brig.-Gen. Avichai Ronsky, who promised to fix the situation, the military magazine reported.
“Not having the Military Rabbinate’s emblem on the Koran is a mistake," Rabbi Corsia said. “If the IDF issues Korans to Muslim soldiers, that means the Koran is part of the army. I look at the Book of Tehillim (Psalms) and it has the stamp, but the Koran does not. In the French army this would not happen. This is an area in which we can help the IDF."
"Rabbinate is the heart of the army"
Rabbi Corsia, accompanied by more than 20 Jewish chaplains from the French Army, ended a ten-day visit to Israel last week, two days of which were spent in the IDF. The rabbis visited the Military Rabbinate headquarters and the Air Force’s Hatzor Base and met soldiers from the Golani Regiment.
“Our role is to help the French soldier, and we do this, among other ways, by providing Kosher food and various religious services,” Rabbi Corsia explained when asked about the Jewish chaplain’s duty. “There are many Jews in the French army – you can see them in every battalion. And if there are no Jews, there is a soldier whose wife is Jewish… Our main mission is to strengthen the fighting spirit of the French army. We work together with the Christian and Muslim religious bodies and talk to the soldiers about the meaning of going out to battle,” he added.
Rabbi Corsia opined that the IDF Rabbinate should also continue to strengthen the soldiers’ esprit de corps. “I feel that the IDF’s Rabbinate is the heart of the army, and that is very good,” he noted. “In the past, rabbis in the French army only dealt with kashrut and religion. I believed that this was a mistake and changed the situation. I think the IDF Rabbinate should adopt the same approach,” he said.
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Read Comments (22) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 21, 2009 at 07:25 PM Milhouse Says:
I don't think I'd like it if I were a French soldier and were given a siddur or chumash with a tzeilem on it, lehavdil. If the Rabbinate is the body looking after the Moslem soldiers' spiritual needs, and giving them korans, that's not a reason to antagonise them by putting a symbol of something they don't believe in on the cover. I don't see the point of this at all, but if it is to be done then they should proceed carefully, and do a survey of Moslem soldiers first, to see what the reaction will be.
2
Jun 21, 2009 at 07:11 PM Anonymous Says:
Interesting. While I can see how this would improve Army unity among the Muslim soldiers, I wonder whether some of them may be offended by this in our hypersensitive PC world.
3
Jun 21, 2009 at 07:11 PM Anonymous Says:
This is dafka a big mistake. The Muslims will take this as a sign of disrepespect and there will be consequences. Why do they go out of their way to incite the Arabs?
4
Jun 21, 2009 at 07:02 PM murray Says:
Its a Great Idea, but of you have (C'V") the disgusting equivalent over there of the "ACLU"-----they will be all over this, saying it's "degrading", etc.
5
Jun 21, 2009 at 09:44 PM HAGTBG Says:
I'll have to agree with Milhouse on this. It appears to lack respect.
6
Jun 21, 2009 at 08:54 PM Anonymous Says:
Any Posaik worth his salt would paskin that this should NOT be done for two reasons: It is a bizayon for the aseres hadibros and would be looked at as if we are being mevazeh them. It could say that it is distributed by the IDF Rabbanut but teh aseres hadibros likeness should not be placed on it.
7
Jun 21, 2009 at 08:41 PM esther Says:
“ This is dafka a big mistake. The Muslims will take this as a sign of disrepespect and there will be consequences. Why do they go out of their way to incite the Arabs? ”
everyone's so worried about disrespecting islam;wouldn't it be disrespectful to the asairos hadibros to put them on a koran?feh!
8
Jun 21, 2009 at 08:35 PM raizels Says:
Is the Israel government insane? What are they doing having Arabs in the Israeli military in the first place! There should be zero Muslim soldiers in Israel. It is time to restrict citizenship in Israel to Jews only
9
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:31 PM Anonymous Says:
“ Is the Israel government insane? What are they doing having Arabs in the Israeli military in the first place! There should be zero Muslim soldiers in Israel. It is time to restrict citizenship in Israel to Jews only ”
EY's Declaration of Independence called for establishment of a Jewish state that would provide EQUAL legal and political rights, irrespective of ethnic or religious identity. The rights of all citizens are guaranteed by the mendinah's Basic Laws (EY does not have a written constitution). The Israeli Supreme Court has consistently interpreted " as guaranteeing equal rights for all including Arabs so your comment displays either gross ignorance of the roots of the medinah or a truly racist mindset. Either way, you cannot simply "pass a law" a disenfranchise nearly 1 million people, many of whom have served with great honor and courage in the IDF.
10
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:28 PM Anonymous Says:
And I think the US army should emboss crosses on prayer issued to Jewish soliders.
11
Jun 21, 2009 at 10:27 PM Anonymous Says:
this is why I am opposed to any form of religious zionism... If you ask me it is worse then any type of religion in the world.... It will only lead to a terrible and horrific end for us...
12
Jun 22, 2009 at 01:34 AM HaLeiVi Says:
Aha, so the Jewish soldiers are not allowed to practice their religion - just don't look - but we'll force it onto the Muslims instead!!
13
Jun 21, 2009 at 11:49 PM Milhouse Says:
“ EY's Declaration of Independence called for establishment of a Jewish state that would provide EQUAL legal and political rights, irrespective of ethnic or religious identity. The rights of all citizens are guaranteed by the mendinah's Basic Laws (EY does not have a written constitution). The Israeli Supreme Court has consistently interpreted " as guaranteeing equal rights for all including Arabs so your comment displays either gross ignorance of the roots of the medinah or a truly racist mindset. Either way, you cannot simply "pass a law" a disenfranchise nearly 1 million people, many of whom have served with great honor and courage in the IDF. ”
Who cares what the declaration of independence calls for? A document that deliberately omits any mention of Hashem is not worthy of respect. Nor is the Israeli Supreme Court -- what a joke of an institution it is, so who cares what it says? It's about time it was taken down a notch anyway.
14
Jun 21, 2009 at 11:46 PM Milhouse Says:
“ Any Posaik worth his salt would paskin that this should NOT be done for two reasons: It is a bizayon for the aseres hadibros and would be looked at as if we are being mevazeh them. It could say that it is distributed by the IDF Rabbanut but teh aseres hadibros likeness should not be placed on it. ”
How is it a bizoyon for the aseres hadibros? What has the double-tablet icon got to do with them? It's not even as if the luchos on which the dibros were written looked anything like that icon; it's just an artistic convention that developed around the 16th century or so, to represent them with that shape.
I don't see the point of doing this, and if I were Moslem I'd probably object, but this particular objection fails.
15
Jun 22, 2009 at 08:48 AM Anonymous Says:
"I don't see the point of doing this, and if I were Moslem I'd probably object, but this particular objection fails."
It fails because you've determined through your holy spirit that the aseres hadibros didn't actually look like this. Unlike symbols in every other aspect of every religion all over the world where the symbol is an exact duplicate of the original. Or, failing historical proof, has at least been determined to be so by those with your holy spirit.
16
Jun 22, 2009 at 09:22 AM Anonymous Says:
This is nuts. Would you like it if the army gave you a chumash with a tzeilem on it???
17
Jun 22, 2009 at 08:44 AM Anonymous Says:
"Is the Israel government insane? What are they doing having Arabs in the Israeli military in the first place! There should be zero Muslim soldiers in Israel. It is time to restrict citizenship in Israel to Jews only"
Thank you. I got worried when all the comments here sounded so reasonable.
18
Jun 22, 2009 at 08:43 AM Anonymous Says:
"This is an area in which we can help the IDF.""
Yes, you've helped them immensely. All is fixed now and you can go home.
19
Jun 22, 2009 at 12:27 PM anonymous Says:
“ I don't think I'd like it if I were a French soldier and were given a siddur or chumash with a tzeilem on it, lehavdil. If the Rabbinate is the body looking after the Moslem soldiers' spiritual needs, and giving them korans, that's not a reason to antagonise them by putting a symbol of something they don't believe in on the cover. I don't see the point of this at all, but if it is to be done then they should proceed carefully, and do a survey of Moslem soldiers first, to see what the reaction will be.
”
very smart and appropiate response
20
Jun 22, 2009 at 01:32 PM Milhouse Says:
“ "I don't see the point of doing this, and if I were Moslem I'd probably object, but this particular objection fails."
It fails because you've determined through your holy spirit that the aseres hadibros didn't actually look like this. Unlike symbols in every other aspect of every religion all over the world where the symbol is an exact duplicate of the original. Or, failing historical proof, has at least been determined to be so by those with your holy spirit. ”
The luchos were cubes. Everybody knows that, you ignoramus. Except you, apparently.
21
Jun 22, 2009 at 03:13 PM awacs Says:
“ "I don't see the point of doing this, and if I were Moslem I'd probably object, but this particular objection fails."
It fails because you've determined through your holy spirit that the aseres hadibros didn't actually look like this. Unlike symbols in every other aspect of every religion all over the world where the symbol is an exact duplicate of the original. Or, failing historical proof, has at least been determined to be so by those with your holy spirit. ”
Actually, the Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke a long discourse explaining just this; that the Luchos were flat on top and not rounded; that, in recent history, the rounded top snuck in and became adopted. ISTR that he said that the original image showed (semicircular) suns shining behind the Luchos, and later images converted the suns to semicircles, which later fused to the top of the Luchos.
22
Jun 22, 2009 at 04:41 PM Milhouse Says:
“ Actually, the Lubavitcher Rebbe spoke a long discourse explaining just this; that the Luchos were flat on top and not rounded; that, in recent history, the rounded top snuck in and became adopted. ISTR that he said that the original image showed (semicircular) suns shining behind the Luchos, and later images converted the suns to semicircles, which later fused to the top of the Luchos. ”
It's got nothing to do with the LR. NOBODY thinks the luchos were the conventional shape. It's very clear that they were cubed, and everybody knows it. The usual icon is just an artistic convention.