During the Serbo-Bulgaria war of November 1885, R' Akiva Yosef Schlesinger of Yerushalayim addressed a pressing question: if Jewish soldiers find themselves in a conflict where Jews fight on both sides, are they permitted to engage in combat knowing they might kill fellow Jews? This dilemma arose as hundreds of Jews joined the Bulgarian army during the conflict.
R' Schlesinger's response navigates the complexities faced by Jewish soldiers in such scenarios. He explored the consequences of refusing direct orders to fire at the enemy, which could lead to severe punishment such as death by a firing squad. However, blindly shooting across the frontline, risking killing fellow Jews, was deemed unacceptable. Instead, R' Schlesinger said that soldiers must exhaust every possible avenue to avoid such situations, whether through desertion or allowing themselves to be captured by the enemy. Thankfully, the war was short-lived, spanning from November 14-28.
