A group of Charedi Rabbanim released a signed letter, warning men not to abide by the military draft, because “it is impossible to remain Torah-observant and perform mitzvos according to Jewish law during military service.”
The letter says, “The army authorities have recently sent draft orders to Charedi young men to recruit them into the IDF. We would like to make it clear that our leading Rabbis have already taught that it is forbidden to enlist in the army in any way, even if they establish strict Charedi ‘Mehadrin’ regiments and brigades, as they have already proven over many years that they do not stand by these pledges.”
The letter stated that even if the IDF makes it clear that [this time will be different] and all the Rabbis’ demands will be strictly complied with, one may not fully trust them according to Torah law. Even if at first they accommodate the Charedi demands, after a while it becomes impossible to remain Torah-observant and perform mitzvos according to Jewish law during IDF military service.”
“Even if they say now that they will ensure that the soldiers can remain strictly Charedi there, according to Torah law, they have no way of making sure that this will happen. We know very clearly that there is no leading Rabbi in Israel who disagrees with these claims.”
“Therefore, we would like to bring forward the opinion of all the leading Rabbis that all young men who received a draft order must not report to the recruiting office at all. May Hashem, blessed be He, protect His people Israel, so that they can withstand all tests and remain Jews who are faithful to Hashem and His Torah.”
The letter was signed by Rabbis of several Charedi dynasties.
Following an order of the High Court, the IDF has sent out draft notices to hundreds of Charedim, and they plan to draft thousands over the coming months.
As reported by VINnews