Israel – Approximately 3,000 haredim were enlisted into the IDF and will begin active service by August 2013, Maj.-Gen. Orna Barbivai told Israel Radio Thursday.
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The head of manpower in the IDF said that the ultra-orthodox youth who received call-up orders had previously deferred their military service for religious reasons, and that this would be the first year that thousands of haredim would be required to perform mandatory military service.
In December, a government proposal was approved to allow 1,300 haredi yeshiva students to enlist in the civilian service program as opposed to serving in the military, but was greeted with widespread outrage from IDF draft reform advocates.
The decision was enacted in order to stymie the fall-off in numbers of recruits serving in the civilian service program following the expiration of the “Tal Law” this past August. The number of active civilian service personnel currently stands at 1,450, down from 2,026 before the law expired.
The Tal Law created a legal framework for an estimated 54,000 full-time yeshiva students to indefinitely defer military service, but also established the civilian service program for haredi recruits in order to provide part of the solution to the low rate of ultra-Orthodox participation in national service programs.
Since no new legislation has been passed by the Knesset to replace the Tal Law – which was struck down by the High Court of Justice in February as unconstitutional – the 1949 Military Service Law (amended in 1986) mandating compulsory military service for all citizens reaching the age of 18 is now operative.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Best of luck to these youngsters.
Kein Yirbu!!
Enough is enough-if you keep the depressed and poor it is no different than Saudia Arabia and the like
Lets c now what the frei will complain about.
My utmost respect and admiration for these trailblazers. Wishing them only the best.
Kol hakovod to these brave young men and women who recognize their obligations to contribute the security of EY, protect their families and hopefully learn useful job and social skills while serving in the IDF. It takes special courage in the Chareidi kehillah to go against all the big rabbonim who counsel against joining the IDF. May the have much hatzlacha and be safe and return to their communities as agents of positive change to a society badly in need of change.
Hatzlocha and thank you to all idf
I don’t get that picture. Why is a guy with some sort of officer insignia holding an automatic weapon in the middle of a blood draw?
Avraham Avinu and Dovid Hamelech went to war. Yaakov Avinu prepared for war with Eisav.
All you need is one general like “Yehoshua” to be victorious.
What it interesting is that it appears that these young men are doing this all on their own, because the gedolim have told them not to enlist.
Yashar koach to these brave young men!
Boruch hashem that there are more people machmir to serve in the army, a mitsva asei d’orayso according to the Ramban.
its a misleading article, they are not actually charedim that were drafted. maybe “nachal charedi” or mizrachi/dati leumi soldiers. nobody out of mea shearim and beitar or bnei brak enlisted.
Hashem yerachem. Torah in Israel is being attacked by a Jewish government.
I have mixed feelings, but lmayseh, how many suffering families from EY come to our doors in the USA because of parnasa problems? Going to the army will enable them to get job skills, and hopefully job placement when they finish. They will also have an opportunity to interact with the rest of the klal and make a kiddush hashem. This will hopefully inspire more of their fellow soldiers to become frum.
In Tanach, everybody was supposed to go except for a few exceptions, and Moshe was upset at the 2 1/2 shevatim whom he thought would settle b’ever hayarden without helping to fight. He told them Haatem teshvu poh vacheichem teitzu lamilchama? Only when they promised to participate in the effort did he grant them their wishes.
For whatever reason, the RBSH wanted people to worry about and be involved in worldly matters, and not only in learning. That’s for the next world. Possibly because in this world chesed is king. Helping protect one’s fellow yidden and provide for one’s kinderlach is a huge mitzva. Just like one must take off time from learning to put on tefilin and get ready for shabbos, or go to a chasuna, etc.
The new Macabeem!