Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Kalman Meir Ber, has called on IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz to cancel disciplinary proceedings against Givati Brigade soldiers who refused to enter a Namer armored personnel carrier in which a female paramedic was present, arguing that the religious rights and halachic concerns of observant soldiers must be respected.
In a sharply worded letter, Rav Ber criticized the handling of the incident involving soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion, saying the decision failed to give sufficient consideration to the religious way of life of the soldiers and the Torah principle of the sanctity of a Jewish military camp.
Rav Ber urged the IDF chief and defense minister to consider the episode through a broader perspective than military regulations alone, saying basic common sense must also play a role in determining how such sensitive situations are handled. “We have a principle known as the ‘fifth section of the Shulchan Aruch’ – matters that do not appear in the law books but are dictated by common sense,” he wrote.
The Chief Rabbi devoted a substantial portion of his letter to the regulations governing service in the IDF. He argued that while some military codes were formulated by academics and intellectuals, the Torah itself establishes principles governing the conduct of a Jewish army, with the requirement of “Your camp shall be holy” among the most fundamental.
Rav Ber noted that since the establishment of the IDF, accommodations have been made to enable shomrei Torah u’mitzvos to serve while observing kashrus and Shabbos. He questioned why similar sensitivity should not be extended to concerns surrounding mixed-gender service.
“Why, when it comes to mixed-gender service, does a religious, Torah-observant soldier have no right to a say, when matters of the ‘sanctity of the camp’ are fundamental to his very way of life?” he asked.
Rav Ber called for the IDF regulations governing such situations to be revised in a manner that properly accommodates the religious lifestyle and halachic requirements of observant soldiers.
Addressing hesder yeshiva students and other religious soldiers who volunteer for combat units, Rav Ber wrote that his “heart aches” over the controversy. He strongly criticized those responsible for establishing military codes that he said were rooted in a culture far removed from the Torah, maintaining that it was under those standards that the Givati soldiers had been “judged harshly.”
Rav Ber warned that proceeding against the soldiers could have consequences extending far beyond the immediate controversy, particularly as Israel seeks to bring additional sectors of the population into military service.
“Such an action – putting soldiers on trial when their sole concern is preserving the sanctity of the camp – could bring disaster upon the need to integrate everyone into this national effort,” he wrote.
Concluding his letter, Rav Ber made a personal appeal to Zamir and Katz to reconsider the disciplinary action and overturn the decision.
“I write these words with a heavy heart and out of a sense of responsibility for the people of Israel and the unity of the nation. I implore you to change the decision and to keep these words of mine before you,” he wrote.
{Matzav.com}
