IDF Chief of Personnel Branch Major-General Avi Zamir told a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee on Wednesday, briefing them on his meeting with representatives of Yeshivot Hesder. According to the senior military commander, the military and Defense Committee have already brought the matter to the attention of the State Prosecutor’s Office, seemingly interested in pushing for legal action against those who exhibited and support insubordination.

Zamir demanded the rabbis address the situation with action, not just words, telling committee members that during a probe conducted by his office, a sefer written by Rabbi Zalman Melamed Shlita of Beit El contains what he perceives as objectionable and unacceptable statements, such as praises and justification for right-wing insubordination, adding he called on hesder officials to clarify the rabbi’s position.

Zamir seems to have interjected a small measure of caution, falling short of system-wide condemnation of the entire hesder network, emphasizing the need of examining each yeshiva on its own merit.

Hesder has played a vital role in the IDF for decades, today representing 62 yeshivot. The movement sends some 1,300 soldiers into the IDF annually.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)