Rav Dovid Leibel Sends Strong Letter to Attorney General, Opposing Arrests of Yeshiva Students

Rav Dovid Leibel has issued a sharply worded letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, urging her to halt the arrests of yeshiva students classified as army deserters. In his letter, he argued that such detentions only deepen mistrust and radicalization within the chareidi community, rather than contributing to a viable solution.

“The arrest of yeshiva students whose Torah is their profession not only fails to advance the necessary resolution but actually leads to further extremism and magnifies the existing suspicion,” Rav Leibel wrote. He demanded that the attorney general immediately put an end to the practice of arresting yeshiva students — including those not fully engaged in learning — emphasizing that this approach exacerbates tensions between the Torah world and state institutions.

Rav Leibel, who was instrumental in founding the new chareidi division known as HaChashmonaim, has been deeply involved in discussions over the draft since the outbreak of the war. While he has consistently rejected IDF enlistment for chareidim unless their lifestyle is fully protected by army regulations, he has also stressed the need for practical frameworks that balance Torah study with national responsibility.

In his letter, he called the arrests “damaging and harmful,” and instead pressed for measures that would build confidence between the chareidi community and the army. Among the steps he proposed were enshrining guarantees for preserving a strictly chareidi way of life in IDF orders and establishing a rabbinic oversight committee under the Ministry of Defense to ensure compliance.

“The time has come to restore trust,” he wrote. “Promises in the past were not kept, and this led to disappointment and mistrust. Arresting yeshiva students only worsens the crisis. With goodwill, solutions can be found that will meet legal requirements while preventing unnecessary damage.”

Copies of the letter were also sent to the Defense Minister, the IDF Chief of Staff, the head of the Manpower Directorate, and Brig. Gen. Shay Taib, head of the IDF’s Technological and Logistics Directorate.

So far, the Attorney General has not responded to Rav Leibel’s letter.

{Matzav.com Israel}