Q&A: Appreciation for National Service
Appreciation for National Service
Question
What does the Rabbi think about the following post? (It’s not long.)
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=380353847164016&id=100055682126969&sfnsn=mo
In short, following the increase in soldiers’ pay, national service girls also want to receive a raise and public recognition of their value.
The question is whether there really is room to compare the importance of the work done in these two types of service at a level that would require similar conditions.
Answer
I completely agree. In my view, many national service girls contribute immeasurably more than female soldiers, and even than male soldiers.
But there is no point in discussing a comparison. There are national service girls of many different kinds and levels, and the same is true of soldiers (a lot of hidden unemployment and unnecessary soldiers, or ones who don’t function). The question is not whether national service girls are equal to soldiers (that is not a well-defined question), but whether national service girls also deserve reasonable treatment and whether they contribute.
There is of course a difference, in that national service is not mandatory, and its length (one or two years) depends on the girls’ goodwill.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know if it has to be the same, but it should be reasonable. In my opinion, they have many more expenses, because soldiers travel, eat, and sleep at the army’s expense.
The claim that this is voluntary works against them. They can choose not to do it.
So in conclusion, do you agree that the living conditions of national service girls should be like those of soldiers? (Nowadays national service girls get something like 700 a month, while soldiers get 2000 plus.)
And regarding what you wrote at the end, I didn’t understand whether that is an argument in favor of national service (that since they do it entirely of their own free will, they deserve better living conditions), or on the contrary, the opposite—that if they do it voluntarily, then they should live at their own expense.