A talmid of Yeshivas Kaminetz who went to a police station to file a complaint against someone was placed under arrest for failing to report to an IDF draft center. The bochur adheres to the instructions of HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Auerbach Shlita who opposes reporting to a draft center event to simply give one’s personal details.
The talmid was brought to IDF Prison 4 in Tzrifin on erev Shabbos after a military judge sentenced him to ten days imprisonment.
The young man’s parents sent him to the police station to file a complaint against a man who has been bothering the family. When the young man was asked by police to show identification, the computer showed he is wanted for failing to report to a draft center and placed under arrest immediately.
Rav Auerbach spoke with the talmid before Shabbos after he was imprisoned to give him a chizuk and a bracha. The rav instructed him to remain steadfast in his beliefs and not permit this to chas v’sholom weaken him in any way.
Rav Auerbach called for protests following the arrest. Protests are expected today, Sunday, 5 Cheshvan.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
Without entering the debate among Gedolim’s positions regarding registration for the IDF, what did this young man expect?
Imagine filing a police report regarding a robbery in NYC, and identifying yourself as a fugitive, while at it.
he who wishes to stay off the radar, should not parade in front of it.
Exactly!!
The bigger question is why Rav Auerbach is putting his talmidim in a position where they need to break the law by refusing to report for a deferment. Enough of this shtik. Getting a deferment is more of a formality than anything else. BTW, what happens when you have a really serious case like someone with a deranged neighbor, a child predator or a violent (yes, there are violent women) spouse from whom you require protection and know that if you report, you will be arrested yourself? Does politics trump safety in this case?
MaxR, surely you jest. You are aware that the law cannot be upheld. It demands that yeshiva bucharim serve in the army, which none of the charedi gedolim even consider. So the question is if one ought to get a deferment which means that they are slated to serve in a year or so, or call a spade a spade and refuse outright. This is a matter of disagreement among the Israeli gedolim – Rav Aurbach and Rav Shteinman – as you know.
#3 “Getting a deferment is more of a formality than anything else.” That’s what you think but far from true. Many boys innocently go for a deferment only to be dragged into the Shmad Army. Rav Auerbach shlit”a knows quite well that getting a formal deferment is going into the lion’s den.
Good morning! That’s why I dont send my boys to marry and live in Israel. Girl can come to USA. There is no more good solution to the army problem. Imagine you cannot go report an abuse and ask for help!!! Or anything similar… (I have no idea what his complaint was at the pllice…. )
#3 – It’s a lot more complicated than that. There are dangers both ways and that’s why it’s a machlokes between gedolim who each see the dangers of one side far more than the other, but either way, we are between a rock and a hard place.
The government is trying very hard and in many different ways to secularize the chareidim. This is not paranoia – it is a fact. They are not truly concerned with equally sharing the burden and they don’t really care about poverty among chareidim. They care that the chareidim should not gain electoral power and being chareidim are the ones having larger families, if the trend continues, the secularists will lose power. Among their many tactics is rather than – as had been in the past – having yeshiva boys come to the army registration office nearest they home town to get their deferment, create one central place for yeshiva boys and men to register and have the place there set up for psychological warfare. There is documentation that this is happening at the Tel Hashomer registration base for bnei hayeshivos. Some will fall for it and leave yeshiva, while others might not right on the spot but will weaken in due time. The quotas to fill, the risk of losing funding if they’re not, the Vaad Hayeshivos not helping those who due to misfiling or such mistakes end up getting drafted, and so on – Rav Shmuel Auerbach says – don’t cooperate – don’t go and be part of this system that is trying to trap you. Rav Shtainman hold otherwise. Yes, it’s dangerous, but many of the weak ones will not be able to withstand the nisayon of being arrested and holding their own – so the weak ones will end up falling. They’re both right – both ways are a sakana! The only solution that I can see is is Moshiach’s arrival – his coming will resolve the danger of secularization, put out the fires of machlokes and restore our hearts of stone to flesh.
There was a similar incident a few months ago where a Talmud yeshiva went to the hospital and was arrested there.
I continue to be amused by those who take the position of civil disobedience to a law they oppose on religious gronds (which obviously has the spillover effect of increasing the national service burdens on those who are not frum)but then express outrage when they are arrested for violating the law. What goes along with taking a principled position on the draft law is a willingness to pay the consequences which includes jail time. Otherwise, comply with the law as tens of thousands of frum bochurim have done for decades in EY.