Ultra-Orthodox Jews who do not study Torah all day should not be drafted into the military, Moshe Tzedaka, Rabbi of Porat Yosef Yeshiva, said this week to an audience of Shas representatives, according to Israeli media.
"We must not, God forbid, take them [the haredi Yeshiva students] to the army because they also pray and they also study,” the Rabbi said.
“If they go to the army, there are many trials that they will not be able to withstand," he added.
The Rabbi also stated the soldiers’ protection depended on yeshiva students.
"We have to believe with complete faith that the yeshiva students who study the Torah are the ones who protect the soldiers, they are the ones who protect the wounded, and they are the ones who protect the hostages," the Rabbi noted.
“No yeshiva student will go there,” he said, referring to the military.
Yisrael Beytenu Chairman, MK Avigdor Liberman, wrote on X in response to Rabbi Tzedaka's comments: "Maimonides ruled as follows, 'anyone who puts it on his heart that he should study the Torah and not do any work and make a living from charity, is dishonoring the name of God.'
"Maimonides also adds and writes, 'in Milkhemet Mitzvah [war of obligation], everyone goes into battle, even a groom from his room and a bride from her wedding canopy.'"
"You, Rabbi, are engaged in a desecration of God's name," Liberman concluded.
הרב צדקה, לידיעתך כך פסק הרמב״ם: ״כל המשים על לבו שיעסוק בתורה ולא יעשה מלאכה ויתפרנס מן הצדקה, הרי זה חילל את השם.״ עוד מוסיף וכותב הרמב״ם, במלחמת מצוה הכל יוצאין אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה." אתה אדוני הרב, עוסק בחילול השם.
— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) March 27, 2024
Tensions over Haredi draft law
Rabbi Tzedaka’s comments come amid tensions in Israel’s government regarding the draft law.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill proposed extending the exemption from the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israel's High Court of Justice granted the government a deadline for Wednesday to explain why it had not recruited the ultra-Orthodox to serve in the military.