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Voluntary war (Hebrew: מלחמת הרשות; milḥemet ha-reshūt), sometimes called a discretionary war, optional war, a non-obligatory war, or a war of free choice, is a technical term found in Hebrew classical literature and denoting a war that is waged of free choice by Israel, only at such a time when the people of Israel are settled in their ancestral homeland.[1][2][3] Such a war is to be distinguished from a mandatory war, in that a voluntary war is not fought for national survival, but rather for personal ambitions of the country's ruler. This might include personal enmity with another state, or a desire to show the country's military prowess as a means to deter potential aggressors, or to expand the territorial domain of the country.[4] Such a war cannot be waged without either the command of a king,[a] or the approbation of the Great Sanhedrin, consisting of no less than seventy-one judges.[5] A voluntary war is also to be distinguished from a religious war, insofar that a religious war concerns the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua.[6]
For all practical purposes, a voluntary war can be described as an offensive war, but in the absence of either a monarchy or the Sanhedrin such a war is lacking in its powers and in its authority to be waged, and there is no man who can forcibly be taken to join the war effort.[7][8][9]
Traditional laws of armed conflict are the norms and practices that were in force amongst nations long before the adoption of the UN Charter and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, where, in the case of the former, the victor subjugated the enemy (enslaved them), expelled them, took their cities and land, etc., and what some have also termed "precedents of permissibility,"[10] although universally agreed that wherever the traditional laws of conflict are found, "the structure of the UN and the structure of international criminal law have been significantly weakened."[10]
The Hebrew Bible, as a case study, has often been cited and used as the constitutional basis for traditional laws of conquest, where the defeated are either killed or enslaved.[11] Traditional Jewish law recognizes as a category of permissible war, wars undertaken in order "to diminish the heathens so that they shall not march against them."[12]
In 164 BCE, Mattathias, the progenitor of the Hasmonean dynasty, made it a law that it was permissible for Jews to defend themselves on the Sabbath day, even if it meant desecrating the Sabbath, when attacked by their enemies.[13] His son, Judas Maccabeus, when trying to curtail the advances of the enemy Syrian troops who had invaded the country, put into practice the teachings of Moses, as prescribed in the 'ancient order of battle' (Deut. 20:1–ff.), and dismissed from his army those men who had recently been married to a wife.[14]
A voluntary war is bound by certain legal restraints and restrictions (jus in bello), inasmuch as it is prohibited by halakha to wage a voluntary war on the Sabbath day, unless it be to save life.[15] Moreover, in a war waged of free choice, whenever Israel lays siege to a city belonging to the enemy, the siege must be initiated at least three days before the start of the Sabbath,[16][17][18] and it is incumbent upon Israel to offer the besieged conditions of capitulation (peace), such as the guarantee of their lives being spared if they agree to be put under tribute and servitude to the Jewish nation,[19][20][9] and on condition that they agree to observe the seven basic commandments given to the sons of Noah.[21] For this, embassages and heralds are sent to representatives of those persons who make themselves voluntary enemies to the nation of Israel in order to extend conditions of peace.[22] Once the siege has begun, war is made against the besieged city and continues thereafter, day after day, even on the Sabbath day itself, as it says: "until it be subdued" (Deut. 20:20).[9][23][24]
In a voluntary war, not all able-bodied men are conscripted to fight, as there are certain exemptions outlined explicitly in the Torah, namely:
Formerly, in Jewish halachic law, it was incumbent upon a priest descended from Aaron's lineage and who had been specifically tasked with the vetting process to officiate over the conscription of new recruits (משוח מלחמה; the anointed for battle), to announce unto the people the legal requirements and to screen those who were exempt from military service, while admonishing and encouraging all others to fight valiantly.[33][34][35] This priest was to be anointed with the holy anointing oil.[1] He was assigned Levite officers to assist him in conveying these messages in an audible voice to the people, immediately prior to engaging in battle.[36][28]
Afterwards, captains were appointed over the soldiers to conduct the war, and to take-up positions at the fore of the battle, as well as at the rearward of military operations.[37][9]
Soldiers are prohibited from defecating in the open field, in such a way that their waste remains visible, but must carry with them a trowel-like implement needed to dig a hole in a pre-designated place and to cover-up their excreta after relieving themselves.[9]
If, in the course of the voluntary war, soldiers were recalled from active duty (although they did not fall under the category of those who had newly wedded a wife, neither those who had built a new house, nor planted a vineyard), they would be commissioned by the acting officers to fix the public roads, to provide food and water on the war behalf, in addition to being assessed for the town tax.[38][c] Such duties and responsibilities do not apply to the man who is newly wedded, or who has built a new house or planted a vineyard, as he is exempt from all these.[39][d]
In Jewish halachic law, it is forbidden to lay siege to a city by completely closing-off the city on all four sides. Rather, a besieged city must be encompassed only on its three sides, to enable those who wish to escape to escape.[40][2][41] Moreover, it is prohibited under Jewish law to cut down the fruit trees of a besieged city while maintaining the siege, in order to punish the people of the besieged city.[42][43][44][45] Neither is it permissible for the warring party that lays siege to a city to prevent from its inhabitants water that is being channeled into the city via an aqueduct.[9]
In those cites where the besieged people refuse to capitulate and to make peace with Israel, the Torah sanctions the killing of all males of warring age in that city, but the women, small children and livestock are to be taken as legal plunder.[46][47]
Conscripted soldiers taking part in the voluntary war effort have been given special privileges to make fighting easier for them, or else to keep them blameless:
According to the Bayit Chadash, notwithstanding the lack of conditions which would otherwise make a voluntary war valid today, Jewish men may still find themselves serving as soldiers in non-Jewish armies among the nations of the world. In which case, Jewish soldiers who are called to lay siege to a city, unlike their regular unit or regiment, are still obligated to abide by the strictures outlined in rabbinic writings and must embark on the siege with at least three days in advance of the Sabbath-day.[64] Moreover, if there was a case whereby Jews and Gentiles had been taken captive by enemy forces, it is permissible for Jewish soldiers serving in foreign armies to set-out to rescue the captives, even on a Sabbath-day, since the saving of Jewish life takes precedence over the Sabbath-day, and is withal tantamount to a Religious war.[64]