Rabbi Dov Landau: Yeshiva Students Shouldn’t Respond To IDF Summons- Even For Deferment

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In the wake of the high court decision requiring the army to conscript charedim immediately and the declaration by Defense Minister Gallant that he would be sending draft notices to 3000 charedim next month, the anger in the charedi community in Israel is reaching boiling point. The charedi MKs are being asked why they should stay in a coalition which doesn’t fulfill their basic demand to legislate an equitable law allowing yeshiva students to continue their studies (while making quotas for those not studying in yeshiva frameworks).

It is also clear that the IDF has yet to set up the apparatus and the religious framework which could support a fully charedi brigade, although there are contacts between leading rabbis including Rabbi Dovid Leibel and the army to establish such a brigade by November-December. Rabbi Leibel stressed to his students this week that currently charedim should not enlist in the IDF.

On Thursday, Rabbi Dov Landau, the head of the Lithuanian council of Torah sages, issued a statement in the Yated Neeman newspaper calling on all charedim not to go to the draft centers even to receive deferment from service. This is a departure from the previous position of the gedolim, who said that charedim should go to the draft centers to obtain deferments, as opposed to the Jerusalem Faction and the Eda Charedis which all along urged yeshiva students to ignore all summons from the IDF.

In his letter he wrote that “During the period of the governments in Israel, there was an understanding with the heads of the army that yeshiva and kollel students would not be conscripted and therefore the gedolim told the public to cooperate with the IDF authorities in order to regulate the exemption, including going to the draft centers to obtain the status of yeshiva student.

“Now the courts have declared war against the Torah world, and are aiming to change the arrangement which existed over all these years, including ordering the army to begin conscripting yeshiva students. Since the IDF is subordinate to the courts, it is now obvious that we cannot rely on the agreements and understandings with the heads of the army since their hands are tied by the judges. Any acceptance of the courts would be a surrender to the war being waged against Hashem and his Torah.

“Therefore we rule to yeshiva students that they should not go even when summoned to draft centers, even for the initial summons [prior to draft, to receive a deferment].

“May Hashem save us from their hands and may we merit seeing an increase in Torah students who are immersed in Torah day and night. The Torah is our life and the length of our days, no item will succeed in harming it.”

During a meeting with Rabbi Chaim Aharon Kaufman, the head of the Vaad Hayeshivos, Rabbi Landau stressed that “A state which drafts yeshiva students has no right to exist. If during war they wish to take away the merit of Torah study- it is absolute suicide.”