According to a “קו החשיפות” report, Eida Chareidis officials are planning a major protest rally to be held outside the IDF’s Jerusalem Induction Center on Rashi Street, in the Makor Baruch neighborhood of the capital. An exact date/time have not yet been set as plans for the major protest against the planned induction of bnei yeshivos into the military and national service move forward.
Eida Gavaad HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss Shlita has commented on the government plan, warning “they want to take the bnei yeshivos to shmad”. The Gavaad stated the army does not need the bnei yeshivos, and what stands behind the plan is the desire to uproot the bnei yeshivos from their Torah lifestyle, nothing more.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
As the Eida Chareidis doesn’t accept government funding, the only way the government can coerce them is by threatening arrest. However if they are visibly protesting (and making a public point of refusing induction) it will put pressure on the rest of the hareidim community to resist as well.
Making as much noise as possible is critical. Most western countries support the principle of conscientious objection to military service, and it is enshrined in international human rights standards. While hatred of Torah is a “core value” of Israeli hilonim, another core value is the desire to be considered respectable and beloved by the western liberal establishment — and persecuting a religious minority for refusing to fight a war is NOT the way to influence the politically correct western liberals.
It is unfortunate that the our Rabbonim do not examine how the current system of yeshivas and kollelim is not working and how the biggest nisayon facing us is poverty and not enough people working productively.
Rather than protesting, perhaps they could stop the non-stop exchanges of hyperoble and offer some constructive ideas for resolving the issue. Its simply not acceptable to a majority of Isrealis to simply grant a deferral to any Chareidi bochur who refuses to perform any type of alternative service (perhaps in Chareidi hospitals or mosdos, cleaning up cemetaries in disrepair, cleaning schools, etc.). Absent some dialgoue and willingness to compromise on BOTH sides, this issue will not go away.
EY Yid: The current system is working very well. A proof is the massive amount of sefarim being published. More Jews are learning full time than any other time in our history. The standard of living of the kollel community in Eretz Yisrael is lower than that of the secular community, but is radically higher than that of the Bnei Torah in the past. The fact is that a poor kollel family in 2013 has a standard of living that is humongously higher than that of a frum Baal ha-bayis in 1913 or any other year. The fact is that when frum Jews start getting enough parnassah to survive, they start losing interest in earning more parnassah and instead focus on Torah and Mitsvos (cf. The backward bending supply curve of labor).
Gadolhadorah: The Eidah have made concrete suggestions. Give up trying to establish a western secular state, and make peace with the Arabs. The last time the Eidah openly proposed this, the zionists opened fire. It is the zionists who want to have a war, and claim that killing goyim is a great mitzvah – so let them fight it. In the long run, it is the Jews learning Torah and doing mitsvos, not the Jews schechting goyim, who determine the survival of Klal Yisrael.
Akuperman- give me a break. Chareidim are not “conscientious objectors” to war and violence. Just see how some of them riot, throw rocks, and burn dumpsters. It’s about not wanting to serve in the army because Torah is supreme.
Of course, pikuach nefesh, ahavas yisroel, Dina d’malchusa Dina, and milchemes reshus are also incredibly chashuv.
rationalfrummie: Throwing dirty diapers and turning over dumpsters (or lighting fires within the dumpster) — are basically non-violent. Throwing bombs and lighting fires in buildings, is violent. Most of the western world (frei Jews excluded) would hold that persecuting a group for refusing to serve in the military on religious grounds is a serious violation of international human rights standards.The zionists would be well advised to avoiding any arrests for draft refusal, and limiting the sanctions to loss of yeshiva subsidies (which hareidim reject), and try a “carrot” approach (offering the same sort of subsidies for post-army yeshiva learning that they offer college students).
War inevitably leads to death and destruction, especially of small countries fighting much larger ones. Pikuach nefesh dictates Israel avoid peace. In the long run, the zionists can not defeat Islam. At some point, when there are dozens of industrialized nuclear Islamic countries, Israel will be defeated.
Ahavas Yisrael sometimes means tough love. Think how the rabbanim reacted to and surpressed the much beloved kiddish clubs. Nationalism gives you a high, but when you get drunk on military glory you act quite tipsy and eventually get in trouble. Would giving the keys to a drunk driver be “ahava”?
Dina d’malchusa dina never applies to laws that are directed against Torah. It was quite legal for Jews in the Soviet Union to learn Torah, or for Jews in Eastern Europe during World War II to hide from the authorities, etc.
If you believe that Herzl and Ben Gurion have the din of a Torah malchus, you should drop either the “rational” or the “frummie” from your screen name. However the war by the zionists against Torah and Mitsvos probably is a milchemes mitsva, though one should follow the lead of our rabbanim and stick to non-lethal means of combat.
Assuming they don’t take any govt money(including bituach leumi) the eidah are the only cheredim that can protest without being huge hypocrits.
Throwing dirty diapers and turning over dumpsters (or lighting fires within the dumpster) — sounds like ISRAEL SUPREME COURT who find that ‘throwing rocks’ is child’s play. Putting dumpsters in the middle of intersections, lighting fires in garbage pails & dumpsters besides issues of pekuach nefesh for emergencies is a sakana for the residents of the areas.
This is stupid and pointless
Apukerma:
If the learning is on such a high level as you describe, then why is Hashem giving such a shtark pach? Hashem only gives such “corrections” for us to improve ourselves and move closer to Him.
Yes, there is some gevaldige learning. However, when I walk near the batei midrashim in my Torah city in EY, I see LOTS of yingerleit hanging outside drinking kave, rachin sigarias and talking on the cellphones.
THe yingerleit inside learning and workin over a gemara — HASHEM SHOULD SAVE THEM. But the others hangin outside should go to work and uplift their communities.
Oh goody – another chance to make a chillul Hashem.