– Press release –
Berlin, 01.03.2022 – WerteInitiative e.V. – jüdisch-deutsche Positionen campaigns for securing a Jewish future in Germany. That also means defending the free democratic basic order as the non-negotiable basis of peaceful coexistence.
Defending our free and democratic society externally requires a well-trained, modernly equipped Bundeswehr that acts in a morally and ethically sound way. Against this background we take a positive view of the idea that young people – women as well as men – should devote a phase of their lives to the service of society on a compulsory basis. Whether as military service or as community service (alternative service), the reintroduction of such service would have to take place as part of a larger package.
The reinstatement of a general obligation to perform military or other service, with a low-threshold option of performing an alternative service, would have, besides the advantage of enlarging the Bundeswehr, the further advantage that one could win potential fixed-term and career soldiers, or applicants for the emergency services, and could promote the formation of a European-German identity.
The chairman of WerteInitiative, Elio Adler, on this: “The paradigm shift in foreign and security policy must now be supported by society. Part of that would be that those obliged to serve receive instruction in democracy. A mixture of history, ethics and civics could strengthen social cohesion.”
Elio Adler continues: “In view of the barbaric assault on Ukraine we see how significant social cohesion is. No society can stand together without values that bind it. At Land level, education for this should be promoted in schools. At federal level, the state could, in this phase of young people’s lives, make tangible what the values of a free and democratic society consist of. In this way military or community service would automatically become a service for peace.”
We had already commented on this in 2018: Press statement: Jewish voice “WerteInitiative e.V.” on the debate about conscription
About the association WerteInitiative – Jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V.:
WerteInitiative has established itself as a civil-society Jewish voice in Germany since 2014. We set out to secure the future of Jewish life in Germany. We therefore campaign for strengthening the values of the free democratic basic order from a Jewish perspective. We do this by promoting values-based political, social and media discourse, civic Jewish engagement in Germany and the German-Israeli relationship. For further information we recommend visiting our website: https://werteinitiative.de/.
