JERUSALEM (VINnews) — At the anti-draft meeting of Gedolim held Wednesday night in Ma’ale HaHamisha, Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, a member of the Council of Torah Sages of the “Degel HaTorah” party, quoted a halachic ruling in the name of his teacher, Rabbi Yechezkel Abramski Zts’l:
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“If it is impossible to (obtain an exemption) from the army, then there is a mitzvah for every person to leave the Land of Israel and make every effort not to live here.”
He continued with a shocking statement:
“I said to my rabbi, ‘I’m horrified to hear that.’
But he responded, ‘You haven’t heard everything yet. Listen to what I’m saying: desecrate the Sabbath and flee the country.’
I asked again, ‘Rabbi, can such things really be said in public?’
And he said, ‘If you won’t say it, I will.’
And indeed, he went and said it publicly. “If there’s someone among us being forced into the army, and there’s a concern he might stray from the religious path, I command him to desecrate the Sabbath.”
Two weeks ago, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel and spiritual leader of the Shas party, launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and MK Yuli Edelstein. The reason: Netanyahu’s claim that a charedi youth can serve in the army while maintaining a religious lifestyle.
Rabbi Yosef lashed out:
“The Prime Minister said that one can join a charedi unit and stay charedi—why are you lying?! What brazenness!” He then escalated: “Maran (referring to his late father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef) said he [Netanyahu] is a blind goat, and I say he’s a blind fox, not a goat.You’re lying like that? No one leaves the army the same. Anyone who enlists becomes corrupted—there’s no doubt.”
This rhetoric reflects the deepening opposition within the charedi leadership to any form of military conscription, and signals the growing tension between the charedi public and the Israeli government, particularly as the issue of mandatory enlistment returns to the political and legal forefront.
I’m absolutely certain that this is a misquote. I can’t imagine Rav Zilberstien or Rav Abramsky would say something like that. It probably was a private Psak given to a specific person, if not, how does this differ from the Levtahor people who say that they can be Mechalel Shabbat to preserve their Hashkafa
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First we had the Thursday night cholent ban and now this, something sad happening in Bnei Brak
It always strikes me as odd that when Chareidi leaders say something outrageous like this, they always say that the source is some never-before-publicized Psak from a respected Rav who is no longer alive. “Rav A ZT”L said that if X happens – all Chareidim should leave Israel!” “Rav Y ZY”A said that if Y happens, a Chareidi Bachur should even be Mechalel Shabbos to leave Israel!” It begs the question of why the purported originator was never known to have said this while alive, and why the “respected Chareidi Rabbanim” currently leading their community don’t have the broad shoulders to assume responsibility for their own statements – “it’s not me saying this based on my understanding of Torah – Rav Y said it, so nobody can dare challenge it!”
What a farcical system it is.