Two soldiers were ousted from IDF Officers Training Base for opting to daven shachris instead of attending a lecture. It is important to note that the starting time of the class was moved up at the last moment, leaving the cadets without a time slot for davening shachris, hence the decision to miss the class rather than miss davening in the proper time.
MK (HaBayit HaYehudi) Zevulun Orlev rejected the legitimacy of the decision to expel the cadets from the training program, explaining there is no excuse for not permitting soldiers time for davening. He explained in a time of war or emergency there are different realities but this is not the case on a training base.
Orlev also points out that the officers involved did nothing to rectify the situation while it was taking place, not making any effort to find a solution, but they simply ignored the situation, permitting it to deteriorate as it did.
Ironically, Orlev and other MKs who are strong proponents of IDF service now find themselves facing a new and most unwanted reality in the IDF, one which gives the appearance of favoring rules and regulations at the expense of adherence to Torah and mitzvos. Orlev called on IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and Chief of Personnel Branch Major-General Orna Barvibai to change regulations on the command level to ensure soldiers are provided adequate time to daven and maintain a religious life.
This most recent incident is yet another clear sign that the IDF’s senior command is well aware that the majority of its junior officers in combat positions today are the dati leumi soldiers, and this reality, of seeing members of the General Staff wearing kipot in a number of years is simply unacceptable.
One needs only to look back at the career of retired brigadier-general, Effie Eitam, who after turning from secular kibbutznik to right-wing Shomer Shabbat officer his career encountered one roadblock after another. Eitam, a highly praised officer, was constantly passed over for the rank of major-general, finally making the decision to leave the military and enter Knesset, where he served as a member of the National Religious Party. His case highlights the ultimate fear among the nation’s rulers, keeping the right-wing religious out of control.
Following the ousting of the officer cadets, MK (Ichud HaLeumi) Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz released a statement to the media, pointing out that today it is a statistical fact that most of the new officers today wear kipot, at least 50% of those in combat infantry positions, “and they cannot stop this tzibur, representing the highest quality sector in the state, the chareidim and the dati leumi, quality individuals who will continue flooding the military with their presence and serve as an example of exemplary soldiers and professionalism”.
He adds that the “continued abuse of kippa-wearing fighters is the result of incitement and jealousy and in no way is this representative of the sodality that exists in the military and will strengthen and invigorate our youth”.
A letter was sent to the State Comptroller’s Office by the Torani Soldier’s Welfare Fund detailing this most unfortunate incident, a letter that reportedly spoke harshly of the rav in the officer training base as well as the subordinates, those responsible for religious services in the base.
In its canned media statement, the Office of the IDF Spokesman spoke of the need of accommodating soldiers from all walks of life, dialogue and discussion, promising the matter will be probed by the appropriate commanders.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
How is this different from not showing up at a meeting at work in order to daven? We have a large window in which we can daven Shachris, and it seems reasonable to say that we need to arrange our time in order to accommodate davening and, l’havdil, our other responsibilities.
Some of the women protesting segregated buses were getting on the buses dafka, just to make a point…might that sort of behavior be going on here?
The army has to do something to prevent its officer corps from becoming to frum. The whole idea of Zionism, and IDF in particular, was to free the Jews from the yoke of Torah. Of course they will look for ways to kick people out who don’t seem inclinced to “get with the program.”
Just another message to the “Dati-Leumi” fools that the State is not “Dati. It is anti-Dati.
Maybe those Mizrahi dreamers will start to wake up, as the Gaza refugees and the “Hilltop Youth” already have, to the realities of the hard-left secular state.
Um, they could get up early and daven beforehand.
Ma titzak ali?
The Torah says that there is a time for t’filah and a time for action. When a soldier receives an order from a superior, especially for military training; pikuah nefesh is ultimately involved and t’filah can be accomplished at a later time.
#1 & #4 – Please read the 1st paragraph of this article:
“It is important to note that the starting time of the class was moved up at the last moment, leaving the cadets without a time slot for davening shachris, hence the decision to miss the class rather than miss davening in the proper time.”
To YonasonW and chareidirbs,
Of you read the story more carefully, you wouldn’t have written your comments. The piece above writes: ” … the starting time of the class was moved up at the last moment, leaving the cadets without a time slot for davening shachris”. Suppose you usually daven shacharis at 7 am. At 6:30 am your boss calls to inform you that he was calling a meeting for 7 am. You don’t know how long the meeting will last and there are zillion things to take care afterwards. So what do you do, will you miss shacharis that day?
Note that they changed the meeting in order to prevent them from davening. The officers clearly knew about davening, and the schedule, and tried to thwart it.
We should get over it. The hilonim are stupid and misguided, they are deliberately hostile. They understand that we are in a war of survival, and either us, or them, will survive, but not both.
cherry bim — I am tired of people justifying the anti-dati policies of the IDF with this “pikuah nefesh” line. There is no issue of Pikuah Nefesh in a training camp. (Nor is it pikuah nefesh to attend Kol Isha performances for that matter!) This was not a “time for action”, and tefila cannot just be “accomplished at a later time”. The article specifically states that there was no later time slot for them to use for tefila, and this was a last minutes change.
“Orlev and other MKs who are strong proponents of IDF service now find themselves facing a new and most unwanted reality in the IDF, one which gives the appearance of favoring rules and regulations at the expense of adherence to Torah and mitzvos.”
Seems that you are unaware that Orlev and other MKs are mitzvah observance and are strong proponents of IDF service while keep mitzvohs.