<p>i mean i wouldn't join the military in israel right now, plus i'm just not much of a military person and i'm a girl
but i can respect the decision completely, my mom (who's jewish) spent a few years in israel living on kibbutz, and at some point i think she was thinking about citizenship (which means serving in the military in israel)</p>
<p>also something to think about, will this hurt your status as an american citizen, which could then hurt your financial aid?</p>
<p>Wow, some of you guys are really shelterd. Do you have any idea where this country would be if we didn't have an army of volunteers, ready to die for you? And your response is "why would anyone ever join the military?" </p>
<p>That's such a repulsive, ignorant statement. I have family members serving in Iraq -- and whether I support the war or not, I'm damned proud of them. And I would join the military to support my country in any campaign, if she needed me.</p>
<p>Eventually, please step out of daddy's townhouse and join the real world.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I have family members serving in Iraq
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I wish them the best.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And I would join the military to support my country in any campaign, if she needed me.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well that's great. But that's the point of a volunteer army is that you don't serve if you don't want to. I would never make that choice.</p>
<p>Not to be rude, but why are you joining the zionist machine. Israel is the only country in the world that will target an entire country for the actions of few. Look at Lebanon, Hezbollah kidnaps 3 Israeli soldiers and Israel thinks they have the right to target the entire country for the actions of private citizens. Hopefully Americans will realize that Isreal is just as bad as the "terrorists" they fight. American laws protect theses animals and make it against the law to directly not sell to them. I hope Americans can realize that the ****** little country has a large control over our media and much of our government. I would not be surprised if they were the sick people behind 9-11. They want our policy focused on the region while they can set up there empire. </p>
<p>My cousin had is enrollment to Harvard deferred for his entire military term. He joined the army after 9-11.</p>
<p>back to the point, deferrment depends on the school. you'll have to talk to the dean after you decide which school you are going to attend. most schools usually let you defer up to 12 months mostly because they don't want you to start school 2 months after the semester started. however, the dean might be willing to let you defer for more than 12 months depending on the situation. i'm guessing that it all depends on how persuasive you are.</p>
<p>just adding my thought to the debate up here, i don't think the existence of israel is legitimate. honestly, i wouldn't feel sorry if the entire middle east turns against israel. (although if that happens, the US will drive all its forces to israel, save their butt, march into all the oil-producing middle east countries and stay there for as long as they want. just a fact)</p>
<p>"Military action is silly, childish and pointless. It doesn't accomplish anything. Isreal and Palestine have been fighting over the same strip of land for the past like, 30-50 years. What have they accomplished? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. They're still fighting over the land."</p>
<p>Military action should be the last action when diplomatic processes fail. America is the greatest country in the world because its military could pimp hand any country on the face of the earth. </p>
<p>Israel is actually getting a lot from the conflict.</p>
<p>Do not be a flower child.</p>
<p>i can't believe what some of you people are saying.</p>
<p>"i don't think the existence of israel is legitimate."</p>
<p>Israel fought and won 2 wars to protect it existence. It is as legitiamte as the US.</p>
<p>if you think about how israel was created after WW2 in the first place, most non-israelis (or most non-jews, whatever suits you) wouldn't agree so much. palestinians were living there already and the british dude (forgot the name. not a fan of euro history), without the consent of the palestinians (again, who were living there already), declared that jews who didn't have a place to go would take some palestinian land and live there. why would britain (and the UN) do this? well all thanks to the powerful patriotic jews living around the world lobbying for their kind.</p>
<p>now i heard some jews claiming that israel is rightfully their land based on the bible (the part where god said there's some land for the jews. not a fan of the bible so can't give you much detail but i'm sure you know what i'm talking about). well to me the bible is nothing more than an unreliable story book. sure go ahead and believe it if you believe in the religion but you can't wave the bible and force the people to accept it as the fact.</p>
<p>israel may have won 2 wars to protect itself. but if you go back just a bit in history and look at how it originated, the UN took the land away from palestine with no just cause (protecting the jews? um what about the gypsies and the homosexuals who were abused by the nazi as well? this goes back to the point of jewish lobbyists) and said "here you go jews, you have land and hell, we'll throw in jerusalem there for you while we're taking some land away from the palestinians". from the perspective of the palestinians, the UN is nothing more than terrorists.</p>
<p>If you want to know what really happened behind the scenes of the formation of the state of Israel, you really must read "Exodus" by Leon Uris. It's an incredibly moving book. While the story is fictional, it is entirely based on true facts (meaning that the characters are fictional but the sequence of events, battles, etc are historical facts). If you still feel that Israel's existence is not legitimate after reading this book, I would love to have a discussion with you about it. Otherwise, all you are basing your opinions on is the extremely anti-Israel media that we have here in the United States (which spins many events to perpetuate a negative image of Israel); basing your opinions on a biased media without at least opening yourself up to the alternative view means that you have not done your research. I would love to have this discussion with someone who has real backing to their beliefs. Ignorant statements like many of the ones that were made by previous posters make for a poor argument.</p>
<p>As for the OP, I am fairly certain that most universities would be willing to allow you to defer for two years for this purpose. Alternatively, you could just go to Israel right after you graduate from high school (provided that a military training begins soon after your graduation) and defer for only one year; the summer would allow you 3 or so extra months which could work out perfectly if you come back to start school the following September (12 + 3 = 15 months and you need 14.5). You should definitely contact the schools where you get accepted to ask about their individual policies to make sure that you don't accept admission at a school that won't let you defer. Good luck!</p>
<p>
[quote]
extremely anti-Israel media that we have here in the United States
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Are you sure about this? The major television networks are owned by jews, many important positions in this country belong to jews. Not to mention we are a staunch ally of Israel. I'm not against jewish people or anything but those are the facts.</p>
<p>Hey Virtuoso,</p>
<p>I can't speak to the percentage of television networks owned by Jews or non-Jews and truthfully, even if I could it would be irrelevant as many Jews are not supportive of Israel. Though this is decidedly a generalization, I am going to venture to say that the left wing tends to be unsupportive of or even against Israel while the right wing is more supportive. Most of the major networks tend toward the left (certainly networks like Fox News Network would not be one of them, but it is a rare exception) and are thereby generally at least somewhat (and at most significantly) against Israel.</p>
<p>I personally believe that Israel does have a right to exist and the Jewish people do have the right to live and prosper in their own nation. However, what's bugging me and the rest of the world right now are the excessive aggressions and armed retaliations made by the Israeli military. No matter what excuse they have (self-defence, security, whatever), no one could possess the liberty to hurt innocent civilians, deliberately or by accident. </p>
<p>Under such a circumstance, I think both sides- the Arab world and Israel/western nations- should be more tolerant about each other. On going violence would only escalate the tension and hatred between the two groups. Tolerance is the key factor to maintaining peace and perhaps even friendship, maybe in the future. In the mean time, Israel should act in a more responsible, rational manner. It should respect decisions made by internationally recognized organizations like the UN, and Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday clearly indicated his stance- immediate ceasefire. Once again, only tolerance and a WILLINGNESS to cooperate will be able to bring permanent stability to the region.</p>
<p>Leon Uris - Jew. I can guess where the book "Exodus" is gonna lead me to.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that Jews don't deserve a place to live. Now that I read my posts again, it may have sounded as if I meant that way. What I really wanted to say was that the location of such land established for the Jews (current Israel) isn't reasonable at all. People were living there and there were almost as many Arabs as there were Jews. Simply kicking out the Arabs to make room for the Jews isn't a rational decision. Why did it have to be current Israel? Palestine didn't agree with anything.</p>
<p>Think of it this way. You're (arabs) sitting on your couch watching TV and having a good time. The British come and tell you to get out so the Native Americans (jews) can live there because their ancestors lived there and their holy book says that it's their land. Oh and the rest of the world agrees with Britain because hmm, it sucks for the Native Americans not to have a place to live. You want at least your favorite stuffed animal (Jerusalem) but no you can't keep it because the newcomers want it too.</p>
<p>btw i don't think there will be permanent stability in the region until either israel is off the map (unlikely because of the usa) or israel takes over all of middle east (more likely than the other but still unlikely)</p>
<p>Don't you ever believe in tolerance, and peaceful cooperation? Don't you ever wish for a peaceful co-existence, regardless of religion or past conflicts? I dislike the many Israeli aggressions and other violent military operations they've committed against neighboring nations, but I also strongly disagree with any form of extremism ("wiping israel off the map"). That particular comment, although naive in nature, is perhaps one of the root "visionary ideals" that will eventually lead its believer to self destruction.</p>
<p>"The British come and tell you to get out so the Native Americans (jews) can live there because their ancestors lived there and their holy book says that it's their land."</p>
<p>actually, if you read the Torah, iit forbids a jewish state.. </p>
<p>oh and btw, i have never ONCE witnessed American anti-Israel media. NEVER.. For one to say this is VERY inaccurate.. I have no idea how Israel does it.. how it still seems to find a way to remain the victim even after all of this...</p>