Degal HaTorah MKs consulted this week with HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau and HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch about an outline for a new conscription law.
It has become apparent in recent weeks that due to the public debate following the Supreme Court’s decision to force the government to rationalize why they can’t draft Chareidim, along with the ongoing war in Gaza, the Chareidi parties will have to make concessions to the draft law they wanted to legislate upon the formation of the Netanyahu government. The MKs told the Roshei Yeshivos their fears that if the draft law is too extreme, left-wing groups will grab the opportunity to incite against the government in an attempt to topple it altogether, possibly creating a crisis that could harm yeshivos and kollelim.
Therefore, for the first time in history and with the approval of the Gedolim, the Chareidi parties (UTJ and Shas) have agreed in principle to a law outlining quotas and targets of the number of Chareidim who serve in the IDF, a measure that was rejected by the Chareidim in the past. Sanctions will be imposed on yeshivos that don’t meet the recruitment goals.
However, there is one clear caveat: the law will apply only to those who do not wish to learn full time. Any bochur who wishes to learn full-time will still be exempt from the draft. But for the first time, yeshivah bochurim or avreichim who aren’t learning full-time will be required to serve or volunteer, preferably with rescue organizations or other settings that operate in accordance with the Chareidi lifestyle.
Officially, this is the law today but in practice, the IDF did not recruit Chareidi bochurim who were not learning full-time. Now, for the first time, there will be an official Chareidi admission that any bochurim not learning full-time will be drafted.
In accordance with the Attorney-General’s demand, the government is expected to approve on Sunday the delay of the demand to recruit bnei yeshivos until June – pending the approval of a new draft law in the Knesset. The proposal is expected to include the principles of the new recruitment law.
At this point, there are no delineated goals and quotas since the proposal is being advanced in order to push off the petitions to the Supreme Court for several months. The fact that an agreement was reached for a law with goals and quotas should be enough for a government decision, which will postpone the recruitment of yeshivah bochurim until the full outline is presented.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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18 Responses
Watch out for news sites editorial slant from the right to make it sound like they are committing more than they have in the past. Watch out for news sites editorial slant from the left to say it’s not enough. Then get the facts and realize that Gedolei Yisroel in fact would NEVER compromise Torah in any way.
For the sake of accuracy. The Gedolim have not changed their position.
The Gedolim who rejected these or similar conditions, Rav Shach, Rav Elyashiv and more, have passed away, and to the ends of their lives maintained that it would be better for charedi Jews to live abroad than to subject their children to the spiritual dangers rampant in the army and inherent to army service.
The change is not in the position of the Gedolim, but rather that the gedolim of today are cut from a different cloth than their predecessors.
“Any bochur who wishes to learn full-time will still be exempt from the draft”
Now, that seems to be a pretty easy way for anyone to have a way out. Just say that’s what you want to do.
I’d like to learn full-time too. But, I need to work for a living. Would I be able to get such an exemption?
So the shishim ribo demonstration that we had 10 years ago was all for nothing?
Wow now I understand why the bal shem tov created chasidis the litvakis just care for the good bucherem but he said that every jew is oilem mula in focused on the pushita yid
Now I see how right he was I’m a chusid and im not a full time learner and I don’t wanna be forced in to army I wanna arlech
So I’m sure the chasidisha gadoilem who care for every yid will never agree and will fight with masiras nefesh like only a chusid could
I’m proud to be a chusid!!
Dovy, what does this have to do with good bochurim or poshute bochurim?
Every Jew is obligated to do his part to protect his fellow Yidden.
Those who are learning the entire day are protecting through learning, those who aren’t learning all day must protect physically in the army.
Why is your blood redder than another Jew’s blood? Why must he put his life on the line to protect Jews while you work in a store?
A chossid is someone who is ready to put himself in danger in order to protect fellow Jews (“חסיד שורפן”).
Shulchan Aruch, chelek Orach Chaim, siman 329, sif 6:
“…When enemies threaten a Jewish border city,
even if they are only coming [apparently] to take straw and stubble,
the populace should take up arms –
even in desecration of the Shabbat – to defend itself”.
=========================================
When the tribes of Reuven and Gad wished to remain
in Transjordan, presumably eluding the battle for
the conquest of Israel, Moshe rebuked them:
“Shall your brothers go to war, and you shall sit here?” (Bamidbar 32:6).
Chastened, the tribal leaders responded
that of course they would join the battle.
Notice, though, how they did not tell Moshe
that they would be learning Torah full time
and thus should be exempt!
Moshe would not have warmed to that idea
– as he himself went to battle, as did Avraham,
as did King David, as have many great
Roshei Yeshivah and Torah scholars today.
SOURCE: Haredim and the Living Torah
by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky 2024 March 7
First published the day before in:
www dot IsraelNationalNews dot com
Bshtei_Einayim:
How exactly is this not compromising on the Torah? The Zionist army is no place for any Torah-observant Jew, regardless of how many hours per day they learn.
Torah, chigri sak.
So sad. No words.
doom777:
It did save countless neshamos since then. Maybe it’s time for another one.
Just wondering – will they also agree to have the government actually verify that those who are supposedly learning in Yeshiva are, in fact, there learning? Else, this is just another way to dress up what’s already happening today – people who are supposedly “learning in Yeshiva” have little to no presence there, but use their enrollment as a way to get out of serving.
“Osim ma’aseh Zimri, u’mvakshim secharo shel Pinchas”.
an Israeli Yid
@SquareRoot
The State of “Israel” is not a Jewish State, whose military is run al pi Torah.
If a soldier has “Mikre Layla”, does he go out of the camp?
Even Mikre Layla!!!!!! Kol Sheken…….
And there were no women in the military then. And Homos were killed etc….
Do we have a Mashuach Milchama, like Yehuda haMaccabee, who said “whoever is afraid, shall go home, so he should not scare his brothers like himself”.
Most importantly, the whole purpose of a military, is what you are fighting for.
Religious Jews (historically, at least) have not supported Israel, ideologically.
Whoever is not learning full time should serve. Not quotas, not targets, 100%. The Roshei Yeshiva should report any bochur who isn’t learning, and demand that he be accepted into the IDF. Serving is a mitzvah, exceeded only by talmud torah keneged kulam.
But learning full time should count as military service, so that in later years when they join the workforce they can do so on the same terms as those who served in the army, and can do miluim on that basis.
Square root, Moshe Rabbenu did NOT go to war, and neither did Dovid Hamelech. The gemara says explicitly that Dovid Hamelech stayed home and learned Torah, and that his learning was just as important for the victory as Yoav’s fighting.
Though I don’t think the proposal noted is workable in practice as draft avoidance will be too easy, it is good to see talk of compromise rather than untenable, extremist positions.
Milhouse: You just contradicted several verses in Tanach which states that David did fight.
Milhouse:
Whoever is not learning should still certainly NOT serve in the Zionist army because serving means being shmaded by the Zionists. Serving in the Zionist army is not a mitzva according to anyone and is, instead, a violation of multiple serious aveiros.
Explain to me please why joining the IDF is a mitzvah, being that the IDF is explicitly anti-religious