Haredi leaders considering forbidding yeshiva students from cooperating with IDF

Ultra-orthodox leaders are considering publishing a letter in the coming days in which they forbid yeshiva students from any cooperation with the IDF, including coming to a recruiting office to report to the first order or receive an exemption from service.

In the meetings held in the past day at the homes of the leaders of the Lithuanian movement, Rabbis Dov Landau and Moshe Hillel Hirsch, it was agreed that if conscription orders were sent to a large number of Ultra-orthodox students - they would immediately issue such an order until the status of the yeshiva students who fit the category of Torato Umanuto, or Torah is their job, is settled. This governmental decree specifies that yeshiva students may finish their studies before enlisting in the military. 

Haredi leaders affiliated with the other main Haredi factions are also expected to join the move.

First-time haredi leadership would align

If the order is made public, it will be the first time that the central ultra-Orthodox leadership aligns itself with the "Jerusalem Faction," an extremist Lithuanian movement that has been advocating a similar approach for years. When the law was in force, the Jerusalem Faction forbade its students from reporting to recruiting offices even to delay enlistment in the IDF due to their status.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a discussion on Tuesday on preparing the security establishment for the recruitment of members of the ultra-Orthodox sector. The IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, and other IDF officials participated in the discussion. At the end of the discussion, Gallant approved the IDF's recommendation to issue orders for screening and evaluation processes for the ultra-orthodox security forces' first call in the coming month.

The orders will be issued following the absorption and sorting capabilities and after a significant refinement process of the existing data regarding the possible recruits. Gallant also concluded that during the next month, a dedicated awareness campaign for the ultra-Orthodox population will be launched, making accessible the service paths adapted to the ultra-Orthodox in the IDF by the recommendations of the "Shakdi Committee.”

In addition, Gallant stated on Wednesday, "We are not interested in conflict and disputes and creating divisions. This is the first time that conscription orders have been sent to the ultra-Orthodox population. I estimate that shortly, we will send thousands of orders. In light of the response to the situation, we will implement it in a phased manner, and in the first period, I estimate that in July-August, we will issue about 3,000 orders with the intention that the maximum will come. We want a successful path, not for defiant actions, but success in the process."