Orthodox Parties in Israel Issue Ban on Yeshiva Students Enlisting in IDF
Image by Getty Images
The rabbinic councils of three Orthodox parties in Israel have issued a statement prohibiting their yeshiva students from enlisting in the Israeli military.
The senior rabbis of the Lithuanian haredi Orthodox Degel Hatorah and Hasidic Agudat Yisrael, and the Sephardic Orthodox Shas parties issued the statement following a joint meeting on Monday night. It was the first time the three rabbinic councils have met together, according to The Jerusalem Post.
In their statement, the rabbis called for the cancellation of any Knesset committee bill that would draft yeshiva students into the military and on “all yeshiva students not to enlist to the army in any way whatsoever, not to surrender to any blandishments and punishments, and not to cooperate with the army induction center for haredim, but instead to toil in their studies day and night.”
The rabbis reportedly have called for a mass prayer rally in two weeks against the new conscription bill being drafted by the Knesset’s Shaked committee that would levy criminal charges against yeshiva students who evade the draft.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
