simcha613-
1. If we shouldn’t take legal funding, we must be exempted from all taxation. Additionally, the rules specifically exempt us from the draft (as they have since the first day the State existed), so in this sense we in fact ARE following the rules.
2. A desire to learn Torah most certainly IS all that’s needed. Even if one doesn’t have a good head for learning. Of course effort must go along with it. See YD Hichos Talmud Torah 246:21 and see Rambam who says all that’s needed is to desire to learn.
3. The Israeli army is FAR more pritzusdik than the average American job.
4. They should continue having an army. No one said otherwise. There are plenty of chilonim to fill the army.
5. The Generals and Israeli politicians publicly said as much. And it was reported in the zionists own press.
Natfush-
The Amish also do not serve as an entire group. But we have much better reasons, as I enumerated above.