Dei'ah veDibur - Information &
Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

2 Marcheshvan 5773 - October 18, 2012 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

POPULAR EDITORIALS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Chareidi.org
Chareidi.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
Defense Minister Barak: "I've Decided to Implement the Draft for Yeshiva Students"

By Eliezer Rauchberger

A grim development regarding the upcoming elections: Defense Minister Barak, whose party is hovering around the threshold for winning a Knesset seat, has apparently decided to run his campaign for the next Knesset on the backs of yeshiva students. In a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on Monday, which dealt with the law of army service for yeshiva students, he declared that he is determined to put the law into action.

MK Rabbi Gafni immediately reacted: "We will not allow any impairment to the Torah world or permit a strike against [full time] yeshiva students who declare Torah as their vocation."

Barak reported that he has already directed the IDF to call up all chareidi youth aged 16 through 19, the same way as all youth throughout the country are drafted, and to prepare for their integration into the armed forces through a swelling of special divisions, the development of various technological courses, and creation of additional ones.

In addition, he stated that due to the upcoming elections, the conscription of those aged 20 through 28 will be executed later on.

"I have instructed Zahal to formulate suggestions for drafting the chareidi population in accordance and spirit of the Supreme Court decision, our military needs and the upgrading of equalization of the [public defense] responsibility," he said. In addition, he stressed that Zahal would operate in consideration of the individual rather than the collective needs.

In spite of this declaration, the Defense minister noted that in his opinion, "All this must be arrived at through negotiated agreement rather than aggression or coercion."

Barak further reported that the conscription of yeshiva students would be done gradually, due to the sensitive period of elections. "We are in a delicate situation and must avoid belligerence and force. But we are certainly headed in the direction of change."

Barak also clarified that this is an interim policy pending the formulation of a law in the Knesset regarding the status of Torah students. But as things stand now, they are obligated to be mobilized. In the future, he said, he will support a law calling for part of this sector to pursue their studies, another part to serve in the army and a third part to serve in civilian service positions.

MK Rabbi Gafni sharply attacked his statement, focusing on Barak and the members of Kadima, saying, "I am mortified to hear your words, for everyone has always known that pursuing Torah studies is a fundamental Jewish value." He added, "I invite every single person present here to visit the yeshiva world, to see how in the Ponovezh yeshiva the students are not only plugging at their studies at noon but equally at midnight. You are living on another planet or generating this only because of the upcoming elections. Send your police, if that will increase seats for Kadima and for Atzmaut. These elections have been forced upon us. The result: the army is behaving shamefully. Yeshiva students have approached me and I have received many appeals along these lines which insult us and where yeshiva students are being interviewed against their beliefs."

Many young yeshiva students have received notices to report to the army to be drafted, but in accordance with standard Israeli army policy, the dates are more than a year into the future. A 17-year-old yeshiva student recently received a notice to report in May, 2004.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.