Opposite to the Jewish Students Union, the German government commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism, Felix Klein, made it clear that he fully supports the participation of Jews in the Bundeswehr’s new military service. He said it is “self‑evident” that the new compulsory service applies to members of the Jewish community just as it does to everyone else, noting that Jews are already serving on equal footing within the armed forces.
The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, echoed this sentiment, affirming that the Jewish community backs the government’s direction and the modernization of conscription.
In contrast, Ron Dekel, chair of the Jewish Students Union (JSUD), described the conscription debate as “partially unrealistic”. He argued that the discussion ignores the lived realities of young people of conscription age who have migration backgrounds or whose family histories and identities are shaped by particular experiences with German state power. Dekel added that, given Germany’s history and the rise of racism, this omission is an “egregious failure”.
Dekel further warned that even the sacrifices of Jews in World War I-who were hailed as “blood‑sacrifice for the fatherland”-did not alter the deeply entrenched anti‑Semitic attitudes in other segments of society. He cautioned that had those individuals not been killed in the war, many would later have been “highly likely” murdered in gas chambers by former comrades.
