The big lie being spread in the lately recurring controversy
about not enlisting yeshiva students in the IDF is that the
critics are relying upon statistics from the Manpower
Division of the Army's General Staff. These statistics are
said to show a significant increase in the percentage of
yeshiva students receiving deferrals from army service,
calculated in proportion to the general population of
eligible draft-age candidates. It is not worth arguing about
these findings, although everybody knows that interested
parties can always "play around" any way they wish with
figures and statistics. The great fabrication, however, in
the whole episode is that the critics are pretending that
this increase really troubles them.
The debate about military deferral for yeshiva students, and
the oft repeated demand to cancel this arrangement, started
all the way back at the beginning of the State of Israel.
Even at that time, when you could not measure the number of
draft deferrals in percentages for the simple reason that
they did not even reach a single percent, a noisy public
debate took place, accompanied by considerable anti-religious
sentiment.
The first prime minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, whom
various anti-religious elements blame for the current
deferral scheme, did not enact it willingly or because he
really believed in it. Much effort was needed to convince him
to tolerate the existence of the Torah World after it was
almost entirely destroyed during the terrible Holocaust.
Heavy pressure from the gedolei Torah who lived in
that period and from the devoted representatives of the
chareidi community were behind his grudging consent.
Even then it really can only be seen as a case of "The heart
of kings and ministers is in Hashem's hand." It is general
knowledge too that after his final departure from the post of
prime minister, when asked whether he regretted any decision
he had made while leading the country, Ben Gurion answered
that one single decision pained him: not conscripting yeshiva
students into the army.
The many reckless attacks, which are frequently not far from
incitement to violence against the Torah World, do not
originate with a problem about what percentage of yeshiva
students receive deferrals. Their origin is the ancient
hatred of amei ho'oretz for anyone with a spirit of
Torah. Even if the percentage were to drop or freeze,
cholila, the sharp tone of criticism would not change.
The long-range objective is but one: destroying the Torah
World, Rachmono litzlan.
The Torah World is the power that has transformed the
neglected and marginal Torah-observant chareidi public of the
State's first years into a magnificent community that is
flourishing, expanding, and making its impression in every
corner of the Holy Land. The anti-religious are fully aware
of this. They subconsciously, or perhaps even consciously,
understand that the yeshivos, botei midrash, and Torah
institutions, are the secret of Torah Judaism's thriving.
The reality of our success threatens their tranquility. They
are not trying to strengthen the army or safeguard the
country's security. The heavy burden of reserve soldiers is
not what disturbs their sleep. What bothers them is the
dreadful nightmare they see becoming a waking reality: more
and more secular Jews are becoming ba'alei teshuvah!
This occurrence is, of course, directly due to those who are
laboring over the Torah and are disseminating it all over the
country.
The critics know the age old secret that Haman HoAggogi
revealed when he was forced to wear sackcloth and lead his
archenemy, that "primitive" Jew, through the streets of
Shushan and proclaim, "So will be done for whoever who the
king wishes to honor!"
The Amoleiki did not search for political reasons to explain
why he had lost the king's favor and his enemy had won it.
Haman did not attribute this phenomenal, radical change to
Mordechai's power or status or to any earthly causes.
He simply went to the botei midrash to look for his
adversary who had refused to bow to him. In the beis
midrash he found bnei Torah studying Torah. Those
were the "idle people" and "draft dodgers," who together with
their rov, Mordechai Hayehudi, were studying the sugya
of kemitzas menochos. Haman remarked: "Your
kemitzah of flour has outweighed my ten thousand
talents of silver" (Megilla 16a).
Eitan Haber, former chief advisor and right hand of Yitzchak
Rabin, threatened that the day will come when forty thousand
young men will gather in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square or in
Yerushalayim's Zion Square and shrilly declare: "We refuse to
be drafted to the IDF as long as there is no draft equality
between us and the yeshiva boys." Haber wishes to alert the
public that "this is every politician's nightmare . . . [and]
lately security officials have forecast a date for this bad
dream -- in about two or three years, when the yearly amount
of yeshiva students freed from draft reaches ten percent.
Then that bitter moment will arrive. That will be the
breaking point."
Actually, it can be assumed that as long as no self-
interested parties, no prominent political figures and
professional anti-religious agitators, are fanning the flames
of hatred, no such demonstration will ever take place. Even
in another ten years nothing like that will happen. I suggest
that first the new draftees organize a demonstration opposite
the Military Adjutancy in Ramat Gan, another in the seemingly
endless offices of the General Staff in Tel Aviv, and perhaps
also near the IDF Radio Broadcasting Studios in Yaffo or at
the Tel HaShomeir Enlistment Center. In these places, like
many others throughout the country, thousands of young men
and women are doing their military service. It is doubtful if
these young people remember which end of the gun one holds
and which end fires the bullet. Most of them have never been
placed in posts in Lebanon or at the Syrian border, nor do
they endanger their lives fighting to protect the State of
Israel. Their mothers sleep peacefully at night and do not
worry when the Lebanese or Syrian regions warm up. They are
simply thousands and thousands of "job holders" who serve in
the IDF near their homes in regular office functions.
Then again, was any inquiry ever made how many drug addicts
or various types of law offenders are not recruited into the
army? Let us not forget that these "elite examples of Israeli
society" are a direct result of the bankrupt educational
system of the State of Israel. Was a survey ever made to find
out how many of them were excused from military service since
the country was founded? What percentage among eligible draft-
age candidates are they today?
It would be possible to go on and enumerate all of the many
arguments that clearly prove the great lie enveloping the
wave of incitement against the Torah World. Even the Labor
Party Chairman, Ehud Barak, openly admitted what really
worries him: the fact that in a few years some fifty per cent
of the eligible draft-age youth will never be enlisted! Even
if the forecast comes true that 10% out of these will be
yeshiva students, we would still have 40% -- four times as
many -- who would come from the ranks of the "golden
youth" of the State of Israel.
Why does no one put the spotlight on the tens of thousands of
hedonist draft dodgers who are right now evading military
service and instead advancing their personal careers? Why do
people only think of the yeshiva students, who are serving
their country by "killing themselves in the tent of Torah"?
Military officials have many times confessed that for every
yeshiva student receiving a deferral there are two or three
other draft-age boys receiving a full release from military
service.
But, as we previously mentioned, we are dealing with a
fabricated argument. Proven statistics will not convince
anybody. The point here is not the drafting of yeshiva
students or the outlandish proposal from Ehud Barak that they
should be put into National Service "for the community." It
would be preferable for Barak to check how many thousands of
chareidim are already occupied in volunteer service for
society, giving their time and strength and money to the
needy, sick and elderly, without making any distinction
between Torah-observant or not.
This campaign did not start today and will not be over
tomorrow. It is a campaign of many years' standing and has
taken on numerous forms and colors, but the objective is one:
causing damage to the Torah and those who are engaged in
studying it. Once the Hellenizers fought us, once it was the
supporters of the Enlightenment Movement, then it was the
Yevsektziye, and later the Shomeir HaTza'ir. The names
have changed but the objective has remained the same. Now the
enemies of Torah are recruiting the blood of those who have
been killed in military service and the feelings of
patriotism and nationalism to incite the public against the
Torah and besmirch its students. As someone once said,
"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
As I mentioned, we know well what the end objective is:
uprooting the Torah. There can be, therefore, no question of
compromises, discussions, or evasions when it comes to
matters pivotal for the Jewish Nation -- for its real
security and its right to exist. Maran the Rosh Yeshiva,
HaRav Elazar Shach shlita, proclaimed at the opening
of the Yarchei Kallah ten years ago: "A question concerning
the yeshivos kedoshos is raised, and there is a vote
concerning it. They think that if someone votes in a certain
way so and so will happen, and if he votes differently
something else will happen. What do you think? Although I am
old and weak I can tell you that without a doubt when the
time comes and there is a gezeira against the Torah
World, I will raise my hand and say, `If I forget you,
Yerushalayim' and the bnei Torah will, none of them
forget Eretz Yisroel either, but all of them will go into
golus, and the Torah will not be forgotten from am
Yisroel! They should be aware, they should understand
that this is not a children's game allowing one to do what he
wants. Let them vote as they like, but it does not concern us
. . .. No ben Torah will remain here if,
cholila, there is a gezeira against the Torah
World; and without Torah there will be no nation . . .. In
the First World War there were six million Jews in Russia,
and there were three Jewish representatives, all of whom used
to seek advice from the gedolei Yisroel. Here in Eretz
Yisroel there is a Supreme Court justice who knows nothing,
and he rules against Toras Yisroel."
We can, however, say with deep conviction: "May the best side
win!"
