In his statements on Wednesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak called for dealing with insubordination “with diligence and uncompromising determination” but added one must not jump to premature conclusions and point a finger of blame at all hesder yeshivot.

In response to calls to cut funding to hesder yeshivot, a call heard from Channel 2 correspondent Ronny Daniel and others, he stated that the response against a number of rabbonim, a handful, must be weighed. He was speaking of rabbonim who he feels encourage insubordination and non-compliance with military directives, making his position clear, that as far as he is concerned, these rabbis represent the exception and not the rule.

He called for dealing with the situation wisely, “without holding a stopwatch in hand”, explaining tact and understanding are demanded, and it is preferable for all if the problem can be solved without cutting funding to the hesder program.

The defense minister’s comments surround the media stir created this week by a number of Nachshon Battalion soldiers who displayed a sign on their base refusing to obey orders to remove Jews from their homes. The soldiers, like the soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion who did the same, were sent to prison. Their actions however have launched an anti-hesder campaign after it was learned some of the soldiers are indeed a product of the hesder system.

Statements to the media by prominent hesder rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon Shlita, resulted in calls to oust hesder from the IDF and to cut funding, as well as to take legal actions against rabbonim who encourage insubordination.

Barak, a former IDF chief of staff, is well-aware of the value of the hesder soldiers, perhaps significantly more so than Ronny Daniel. Hesder soldiers over past decades have proven themselves over and over again, exhibiting their dedication to the IDF and Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Levanon called on the military to avoid issuing orders that are immoral and simply unacceptable, orders that place soldiers and officers in a dilemma without a solution.

On that note, MKs Hotovely and Eldad are pushing a bill that would limit using the military for law-enforcement operations, limiting the army to defense and security issues, seeking to remove the IDF from the heart of the ongoing political conflict in Israel.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)