Dozens of rabbanim and chassidishe rebbes convened Sunday evening in Yerushalayim to mount unified opposition to the proposed draft law in Israel. The location of the meeting was kept confidential until the late afternoon hours, and invitations were delivered quietly, as organizers sought to coordinate an uncompromising response to what they described as an existential threat to the Torah world.
The dramatic gathering took place as the chareidi public had been anticipating a scheduled meeting of the Chassidishe Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah at the residence of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe in Ora, which was ultimately canceled due to the frail health of the Gerrer Rebbe.
In parallel, the emergency assembly went ahead at the Vizhnitz Hall on Rechov Nechemia in Yerushalayim, drawing a cross-section of rabbonim.
Against the backdrop of intense deliberations surrounding the draft law, speakers at the gathering called for heavy pressure to be placed on Agudas Yisroel representatives and other chareidi political parties not to yield to any draft framework. Sharp words were heard from the podium warning of a dangerous escalation. “They began by taking bochurim who were not within the walls of the yeshivos to military prison, and then moved on to taking the finest bochurim,” one speaker declared. “The draft law is exactly that—a law meant to draft.”
A particularly emotional moment gripped the hall during the address of the Slonimer Rebbe, who spoke directly to public criticism leveled at the Torah community. “They tell me that people are dying in war while your sons sit in yeshivos,” he said. “Every day we accept upon ourselves the yoke of malchus Shamayim to give our lives for the Torah. There are values that are above life itself.”
Among those present were rebbes from courts including Slonim, Lelov, Bohush, Zvhill, Skulen Yerushalayim, Biala Bnei Brak, Pinsk-Karlin, Sasov, Vizhnitz Beit Shemesh, and others, alongside various roshei yeshiva and Sephardic rabbanim. Influential mashpi’im and mekubalim also took part.
Following lengthy deliberations, the participants reached a decision to hold a massive public rally on Monday, 16 Teves, in Yerushalayim.
A detailed statement outlining the decisions of the gathering was released. In it, the rabbanim declared their fierce protest against what they termed a “terrible decree of conscription” threatening observant Jews in Eretz Yisroel, with particular reference to the severe targeting of Sephardic yeshiva students. They asserted that the government has effectively declared war on Torah observance, with the aim of uprooting Jewish identity from the hearts of the nation.
The statement further ruled that it is strictly forbidden for any chareidi Jew to enlist in the army, including frameworks marketed as “chareidi tracks,” which the rabbanim said inevitably lead to spiritual destruction. This prohibition, they added, extends as well to alternative state-run programs such as national or civil service. The rabbanim warned against draft legislation that includes quotas, targets, or sanctions, stating that any law that involves agreement—direct or indirect—to the enlistment of chareidim is forbidden to support, even through abstention.
This will never end. When does Matisyahu make a revolution against the misyavnim?
I’m ready
Today’s Misyavnim are Jews, albeit G-dless, and we are not mechuyav to fight their enemies that Hashem send them because of their anti-Torah actions. What we ought to do is bring Torah and Yiddishkeit to them.
We have Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, Moetzes of Agudas Yisrael, Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah of Shas….so what is this group? Who is it for?
This one has the Rebbe Reb Mylich (Biderman) and Reb Gamliel (Rabinovich).
(At many of Matazv’s articles on Chareidi Draft, I posted the following remarks. BE’H, I will post them again here, as they are quite important to keep in mind in this serious crises.)
For very many years through the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the US military fought a very fierce war in the south-eastern region of Asia, mainly in the small country of Vietnam. The declared purpose of the war was extremely noble: to stop the spread of evil Communism in that area. However, there were many indications that the engagement actually had very little to do with the noble cause of stopping Communism, and, on the contrary, had aspects that were exceedingly NOT noble.
When the American people learned this, vast numbers strongly opposed their government’s action, declaring it an “immoral war,” which they wanted no part of. Countless young men deliberately burnt their draft cards and went to Canada, where they would be away from US police who would want to arrest them for breaking US conscription laws.
Massive demonstrations were held in many major US cities at which protestors vehemently shouted absolute defiance of the draft and insults of the then US president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who was often referred to by his “LBJ” initials:
“(GEIHINOM) NO!!” “WE WON’T GO!!” and
“HEY!!” “HEY!!” “L!!” “B!!” “J!!”
“HOW MANY BOYS DID YOU KILL TODAY!!”
The Vietnam episode was exceedingly long and complex. So, to fully relate it and properly analyze what was & what was not noble about it, is far beyond the scope of our comments here.
What is relevant for us is that the US Government proclaimed a very noble sounding Vietnam “call to arms” to stop Communism. The problem though was that “stopping Communism” was WAS NOT what was happening, and a lot of what WAS happening was not noble. When this was realized, vast masses of people fiercely rejected their government’s call.
In the State of Israel today — and pretty much since its founding close to eighty years ago — the state’s government has proclaimed a noble “call to arms” to join its IDF for the extremely noble (sounding) cause of defending the Jewish homeland and ensuring that it will be a place where Jews are safe & secure & protected. However, just like in Vietnam there were indications that the campaign was not really about its stated noble goal, so with Israel & its IDF, there are indications that the campaign is not really about its stated noble goal (of protecting Jews & keeping them safe).
For on Simchas Torah – October 7, 2023, the Israel Government & its IDF deliberately let in the masses of the wicked Hamas hordes and deliberately allowed them to sadistlcally slash & rape & burn & kill well over a thousand civilian Jews and cruelly abduct several hundreds more. They thus glaringly showed that they DO NOT CARE AT ALL about protecting Jews & keeping them safe in any kind of a Jewish “homeland”!! So, this is CLEAR PROOF that their proclaimed noble sounding “call to arms” cannot be for their claimed noble purpose of protecting Jewish safety, for “protecting Jewish safety” is NOT what has been happening.
Instead, on the contrary, just like in Vietnam many things that were happening were not noble, here too with Israel & its IDF, what has been happening are things that are not noble.
Stop the propaganda.
Yes, there were errors and lapses, but to say that Hamas was deliberately let in on Oct. 7 is deranged. Do you work for Al-Jazeera perhaps?
Matzav, why are yoy letting this guy post vile Al Jazeera type propaganda here????
If it’s deranged and Al Jazeera propaganda, can you explain how all the most secure borders in the world were suddenly wide open, and all soldiers and police were told to stand down for 8 hours! to massacre?
Yes, and this IDF & police eight-plus-hours-stand-down was occurring while the victims in the attacked villages & communities — who were being slashed and killed — were frantically trying to call government security/emergency services but were getting no help. In some places, it was even TWENTY HOURS before any kind of assistance people arrived.
For government & IDF officials have openly admitted & brazenly bragged that they DELIBERATELY set up the extensive intrapersonal settings of the military in ways that will lead & encourage & cause recruits — who often come with wonderful high religious/moral values that were instilled in them by their families & communities — to fully shed & discard & negate & reject those beautiful sacred values and do very terrible deeds that are the exact opposite of those values.
THIS IS WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING, AND IT IS OBVIOUSLY THE VERY EPITOME OF WHAT IS EXCEEDINGLY OF EXCEEDINLY OF EXCEEDINGLY NOT NOBLE!!!!!!!!!!
Therefore, us of the Chareidi/B’nei Torah realm today need to learn from those millions of American people of over 55 years ago who were appalled at the falsities of the Vietnam campaign and thus absolutely refused to take part in it and thus conducted extremely massive vehement public protests against it. Likewise, we too need to be appalled at the falsities of the Join-the-IDF campaign. We must realize that it is not about its stated noble goal of PROTECTING Am YISROEL; instead, on the contrary, it is about the exceedingly of exceedingly of exceedingly NOT noble goal of REMOVING Torah from Am Yisroel & gravely PERVERTING Am Yisroel & thus severely WREAKING & DESTROYING Am Yisroel, Rachmana Litzlan!! We must thus MOST ABSOLUTEY refuse to take part in it in any way or form and must conduct extremely massive vehement public protests against it.
First off Chareidi/B’nei Torah don’t learn how to act and view things from the American counter culture revolution of the 1960s. If you are going to do that you may as well join a frum army unit you are so influenced by non-Jewish culture anyway.
Secondly if Israel was as many thousands of miles away from Hamas as the US was from Vietnam and or if Israel was attacked by Palestinians as many times as the US was by Vietnamese (never) everyone would feel the same way as you.
The rest of what you write is just a belief with even less evidence supporting it than the belief the war in Vietnam was a good idea