Chareidi MKs: Secular Youth Should Be Drafted to Yeshivos

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moshe-gafniChareidi politicians have responded to this past weekend’s protest for equality in sharing of the military burden in Israel by saying that it was a manifestation of the public’s anti-charedi agenda.

“I think we should have an equal sharing of the burden,” Moshe Gafni, United Torah Judaism MK and chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, said on Motzoei Shabbos. “There are not enough people who study the Torah. Some of the teenage youth who demonstrate in Tel Aviv – a large number of whom do not serve and do not study – should be drafted into the yeshivot. The people of Israel are under threat and we need all the help we can get, certain segments should serve in the military and other segments should serve in yeshivot, no one should be free from either form of service.”

MK Yisrael Eichler said that the organizers of the “service for all” protest movement are imbued with hatred for chareidim. He also said their ostensible overarching goal furthering the state’s security is only secondary to their desire to have the charedi youth who engage in Torah study re-educated and integrated in a melting pot.

“The secular regime regards the young pupils who study Torah and the yeshiva students as the real threat to the state,” he said, according to Israel Hayom.” All the conscription and integration plans are designed to destroy chareidi education and to sever the people of Israel’s ties to the Torah. Anyone who wants equal sharing of the burden should repeal the mandatory military service requirement.”

As reported yesterday by Matzav.com Israel, Chacham Ovadiah Yosef, head of the Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah of Shas, said in his weekly Motzoei Shabbos drasha that the upcoming summer bein hazemanim for yeshiva bochurim should be cancelled, as government officials keep calling for a more equitable sharing of the burden of defending the country.

“We are surrounded by enemies,” Chacham Ovadiah said. “We have Iran, we have Hezbollah. What can save us? Only limud haTorah. We are in great trouble and we cannot afford to lessen limud haTorah. I would ask the roshei yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel that, if possible, they should not institute bein hazemanim this year. Instead, the talmidim should learn and be mechazeik themselves in Torah. If we do this, the Ribono Shel Olam will do his part.”

MK Talab El-Sana (Ra’am-Ta’al) said that the Arab sector will oppose a decision to apply mandatory service.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}


8 COMMENTS

  1. Best suggestion so far. Maybe that way the typical young Israeli Jewish youth would learn why he lives in Israel and find out something about his heritage and learn the beauty and truth of Torah and lead a Jewish life – long overdue. But, this is wishful thinking, in the meantime, because the pushing of the draft of the chareidim is another matter and has really nothing to do with wanting chareidim or any religious Jew in the tzava. They need to demoralize, etc. the chareidim and if they get them in the army, they can achieve their goal to secularize them. The commanders say they have enough soldiers and really don’t want soldiers (especially who will be a burden to them), so this has nothing to do with needing the chareidim. In the meantime, no punishment has been meted out to the many draft dodgers from the left.

  2. Enough will the silliness. The primary effort should be in working to abolish the draft altogether. There is no need for a draft and it causes damage to the social, economic and military sectors of the nation. It is a relic of Israel’s communist past and we must move on.

    Only a little over 50% of those who can be drafted actually enter the IDF and the IDF is still so bloated with militarily useless people that it can hardly move. The Billions of Shekels wasted on make-work, social/educational services can be better used to upgrade the IDF or spent in the civilian sector.

  3. Sorry, I dont think this approach will gain any positive results, the majority (yes, the majority is either secular or modern) of klal yisroel has, unfortunately, a certain animosity towards chareidim, they don’t understand us, they are influenced by the hatred spread by the secular media, this approach of counter-attacking w/o doing any explaining our hashkafa, is a total PR disaster.

  4. #4- totally agree. However, politics will not allow it. Currently, 40% of the Israeli army is comprised of religious zionists. If the draft were to be abolished, those numbers would be even more disproportionate, with religious zionists comprising a much higher number, as religious zionists are more willing to serve. Discriminating against religious soldiers, even zionists, which is very real, would then become a lot harder for the secular establishment.

    What is more important to a zionist, a stronger army or discriminating against the religious? We know how the Israeli government feels.

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