Campos 251or many non-Muslims, and particularly for the Ottoman Jewish F
communities, support for universal conscription became a measure of
support for Ottomanism, for the empire, and for the responsible partici-
pation of non-Muslims in the new Ottoman body politic. It was consid-
ered an honorable contribution to the Ottoman nation, not only a duty
but a privilege for all Ottoman citizens. In short order, however, mili-
tary service became another yardstick by which to measure the relative
Ottomanist contribution of each ethno-religious community; in many
respects military conscription was less a means of integration than a new
source of inter-communal rivalry.
n part because of the ambivalent policy in Istanbul,I^44 the con-
scription issue was the source of much confusion and misinformation
and as a result the local press became an important intermediary for the
people. The Jewish press published numerous articles and notices about
the new law and exemption regulations, dates of medical exams, call-up
notices, and procedures. In order to preempt any inter-communal con-
flicts, the government established local induction and appeals committees
consisting of the governor, local military commander, head of military
conscription, census clerks, and religious heads and lay leaders, placed
there “so that no injustice is done and all is carried out according to law.”
Nevertheless, the conscription process was messy and inefficient, and led
to frequent public complaints of unfairness, inefficiency, and exploitation.
hile at first loudly declaring Jewish excitement at serving the W
homeland, once the romantic heroism of the Ottoman military wore off,
many non-Muslim youth were unwilling to join an institution that posed
certain health and financial risks, whether through being shipped off to
quell domestic unrest in Adana, the Hawran, or the Arabian peninsula
(1909–11), or to defend the empire from foreign attackers in 1911–13.
In this instance the press applied a dual strategy: it offered a platform for
promoting military service as a duty of citizenship and trumpeting the
community’s loyalty to the Empire, while simultaneously pleading with
Jewish youth not to emigrate or otherwise escape military service (thereby
revealing the limits of that loyalty).
s one Judeo-Spanish newspaper put it, “All Ottomans, Muslims A
and non-Muslims, should enter under the Ottoman flag.”^45 In May 1909,
ha-Herut trumpeted that “we the Jews were always loyal to our homeland