Rabbi attorney Dov Halbertal agreed to speak with Israel Radio on Monday morning, 4 Adar 5772 regarding the recent High Court of Justice decision which declared the Tal Law illegal.
The Tal Law, which was passed about a decade ago, permits avreichim to sit and learn without fear of being drafted into the IDF. In accordance with the court’s decision, this situation will come to an abrupt end on August 1, 2012, at which time the Defense Ministry will be compelled to send draft notices to eligible citizens.
Following is a synopsis of the calm and respectful interview conducted by Israel Radio’s Reshet Bet station.
Rav Halbertal: Not Bibi or Beinish and all the Bibis and Beinishim will succeed in enlisting a single chareidi against his will. If this is not understood, there is nowhere to go from here. This is a matter of fact and the court and or the government will change this reality. The gedolei hador of this generation have decided that the public will not serve in the IDF or national service of one form or another. This is the situation and it is not open to discussion.
Israel Radio: So you are saying that there is discrimination, that the blood of some is more important than others – that an entire sector is unwilling to pull its weight. Can you understand why so many people feel the chareidim are simply avoiding their responsibility as citizens?
Rav Halbertal: Permit me to explain. Those who are sending a different picture, indicating that avreichim are going to serve are simply lying to the public. Four military divisions can surround Har Nof and not a single person will be inducted as a result. Whoever does not realize and accept this is simply deceiving himself and lying to the public.
After the decision of the High Court declaring Tal illegal there were politicians who proudly announce the problem of a double standard, the discrimination if you will has been solved. In essence, nothing has changed and no one is entering the IDF as a result.
The issue is how one analyzes the situation. There are those who believe the nation stands on the merit of those who place themselves in life-threatening danger, and I am not here to minimize this in any way, but there are those who know the nation exists on the merit of the Torah study. This is the opinion of gedolei hador and no government body is going to change this reality.
Israel Radio: But what about the religious High Court justices who agreed with the decision declaring the Tal Law illegal? They stated one may serve without compromising one’s religious lifestyle.
Rav Halbertal: Do you think [High Court Justice Elyakim] Rubinstein or the other two High Court justices are going to teach Rav Elyashiv about Moshe Rabbeinu? I don’t say this cynically. They may be outstanding justices but they are not talmidei chachamim and their opinion does not have a bearing on the actions of the chareidi community.
Israel Radio There are those who say if the Rambam was alive today he would understand our position easier than yours.
Rav Halbertal: If the Rambam was alive he would say adhere to the words of the gedolei hador, and the situation today is not similar to 1,000 years ago, or even 20 years ago. The gedolei hador guide us and we adhere to their words. The gedolei hador do not sit in the High Court, but in our community and they alone will make decisions for the chareidi tzibur.
Israel Radio: In essence, I understand that nothing we do will change this reality. To me, it sounds like a form of rebellion if you understand me? Where do we go from here? Perhaps we cannot live together?
Rav Halbertal: You are correct but the issue is who is rebelling, you or us. This is the crux of the issue. Perhaps there is no solution but what is for certain is that the reality is no one is serving in the army as a result of the court’s decision and if they do not understand this, they are lying to you and your children. I am sorrowed over this, but Bibi for example is deceiving the public. Nothing is going to change.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
I respect Halbertal for providing a honest opinion of the current situation but his message presents a dire warning to the government. Do they allow this double standard of ” the blood of some is more important than others” to stand or must the government now have to consider extreme and politically unattractive responses such as expelling from EY those chareidim who refuse to serve either in the army or in some alternative public service and effectively demand that others bear the burden of defending the medinhah. Hopefully, we will never have to actually implement such drastic options but there aren’t enough prison cells in all of Israel to incarcerate all who refuse to perform some type of public service. As an aside, Halbertal never explains why some type of public service in Hospitals, schools, cleaning public facilities etc. would not provide an acceptable compromise to those who might have some religious objection to serving in the IDF.
I agree with all he has said, shame Amsalem doesn’t see it this way!
Every word worth its weight in gold. And to poster no. 1, it is assur to defend the “medinhah” in any way until it becomes a medinas Torah.
#1: Don’t delude yourself. Expulsion is impossible. No other country will accept Israeli citizens to be expelled into their country.
He is simply stating that conscientious objectors in Israel have the same rights as such people all over the world.
There are plenty of religious Jews in the IDF, and they suffer harrassment and discrimination from their anti-religious secular officers every day, trying to force them to compromise their religious standards.
Promotions are denied, simply because an officer is religious, and the secular commanders do not want religious officers to attain high rank in the IDF, which could be a stepping-stone to entry into politics.
In fact, it is widely acknowledged that the religious troops are the best and the most dedicated, because of their idealism.
The reason the politicians want to push the Hareidim into the IDF has more to do with forced assimilation into the secular culture than national security.
To No. 3.
Your comment is both irresponsible and reflects a fundamental lack of any understanding of halacha. There is nothing in the torah that remotely suggests it is “assur to defend the medinah and stand by helplessly and watch the arab armies move across the border to slaughter us. Your comments are an insult to the memory of the kadoshim killed in the shoah who weren’t able to fight back. We can and we will and those of you who will go run and hide under your shtenders in the beis medrash when the war comes, don’t deserve to live in eretz yisroel, now or ever in the future.
Halbertal is merely explaining here what he sees as reality.
He is not commenting on whether or not he personally agrees with that mindset.
If you want to know more about Prof Halbertal’s personal views, see his widely-discussed HAARETZ article, “Israel must separate religion from politics.”
Here is an excerpt:
I don’t believe anyone has to pay for my beliefs. It’s not ethical that the secular public finances yeshiva students and the high birth rate among the ultra-Orthodox. There is nothing more infuriating to secular Israelis than to be spit in the face after they’ve given the ultra-Orthodox a generous sum of money. The ultra-Orthodox oppose the values of a secular society – Zionism, creativity, army conscription, sexual equality and more. However, they have no qualms about demanding and receiving money from this society, thereby intensifying public animosity toward them.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. There is no reason the secular public should finance those who show contempt for its values. The solution I propose will benefit religion more than the state. I don’t want to be part of a society that uses coercion. I don’t want to be part of a society in which there is incitement to racism, and I don’t want to be part of an ungrateful religious society.
I think that rabbi Halberthal is misleading the Tsibbur. the first thing that the Knesset will do is de-funding all the kollelim. Yahadut hatorah may leave the government but Shas will fudge the issue and stay in,thereby assuring that the govenrment is steady.
Once that is done- let’s see how the chareidi people live.
#7 There should be a seperation of Religion from Politics until the arrival of Mashiach.
I wonder if Neturei Karta slipped Beinish some money, or maybe she gets a secret commission on everyone who gives up on zionism.
That’s it. Netuerei karta needed new blood, so they recruited Beinish to prove their point that zionism and Torah are incompatible (a view historically shared by most secular zionists, ironically).
#9 Prof Halbertal agrees.