Israel – Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that the IDF’s cooperation with the Har Bracha Hesder Yeshiva was over. He made no mention of the fact that the yeshiva’s dean, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, signed a declaration against political protests in the military – an act which Hesder yeshiva deans hoped would mollify the minister’s anger at Melamed.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
“After two attempts to demonstrate within the army, it turned out that there is a yeshiva whose head openly preaches for refusal of orders, and is unwilling to denounce acts of protest within the IDF,” Barak said in a speech before high school students in Rishon LeTzion.
“One of the foundations of a democratic state is a monopoly on the use of force on the one hand; on the other is the state’s authority over the citizens,” he lectured the students. “The citizens express their stances through political activity and the ballot box. The State has an army and the army is under the authority of the State, and of no other body.”
“The idea of a military and refusal to do army service are not compatible, and we do not intend to accept this,” Barak went on. “This must be clear everywhere. After studying the case and reading the recommendations of the heads of the IDF, I reached the conclusion that the right path is to end the Hesder [arrangement] with this particular yeshiva. Make no mistake, the Hesder yeshiva boys are the IDF’s finest soldiers, in all units, and have been for decades. They are also a very important core group in the reserve force afterward. They are excellent people, but just as one should not make generalizations, we should not shut our eyes where there is unworthy and improper behavior. For this reason, the arrangement with this yeshiva is finished. Soldiers from all the other yeshivas are received with a blessing [an apparent pun on the word bracha, or blessing, which is part of the name of Har Bracha – ed.].
Barak also hinted that IDF soldiers would continue to participate in evictions from outposts. “We are not the only country in the world in which the army is called upon to carry out civilian assignments. When a state reaches the place in which it needs to enforce the law on citizens, in has no choice but to use its army. This instruction must also be carried out and obeyed, this is the true basis of democracy.”
i’m not sure Mr. Barak understands the meaning of democracy. Israel is a democracy like Iran is.
Who needs Arabs when you are willing to use your own military against your own people and knock their houses over with bulldozers and the like. GAZA WAS A FAILURE THE WEST BANK WILL BE ANOTHER. Why doesn’t this country learn from its mistakes. We could go into a 50 year time capsule and come out and find Israel still at it pacifying everyone but their own citizens. This will lead to a civil war.
They should rename the country to Isran or Isbanon. They treat their citizens like the ARABS treat their own citizens. Israel loses any legitimacy when they act like this to their own. The medina has lost its right to exist.
Israel is not a democracy it does the will of the American government!
What about the fact that the heads of Ben Gurion University advocate for the abolishing of the State and the Arabs taking over
kol hakovod to Barak for standing up to these chareidi meshugaim who believe that soldiers should be able to decide on a case-by-case basis which orders they will obey based on the guidance of some rebbe. The good news is that there is a growing concensus among the majority of the citizens of EY that the medinah has reached a point of no return with the chareidim and settlers who invoke “divine right” to the entire west bank. The government will simply use massive force to assure that the security needs of EY and the effort to reach a peace treaty with the Palestinians takes priority over whatever the rabbonim believe to be required by halacha. No one really wants to see another Gush Katif but that is exactly what these rabbonim seem to want.
The secular Zionist movement has once again proven itself to be morally bankrupt.The appropriate response to this thug should be the complete hesder movement speaking with one voice. All for one and one for all. notify this megalomaniac that unless the Har Bracha hesder program is reinstated with all apprporiate previous priveleges, all the hesder yeshivas will resign from the hesder program. The hesder yeshiva boys are the most conciencious in the army and, in a standoff like this I am convinced the Gov’t will blink first.
on a related topic perhaps it is time for the religious zionists to come to grips with the failure of the great zionist dream, religious or otherwise. To paraphrase Rav Yitzchok Hutner zt”l ” There can be no hyphenated Yahadus”(IE Religious -Zionist).
Dear VIN bloggers,
I live in Israel. I have a family and I would be considered by all of you to be chareidi. My sons go to yeshivas – some of which are more open than others and my daughters are married to kollel students and are happy to support them in learning. They chose vocations which are financially lucrative in order to facilitate this. My sons in law also bring in a salary from kollel and also hold down part time tutoring jobs. My sons in law are wonderful husbands and do everything to ensure that my daughters are happy. We are happy. However, I never feel the need to say that someone who isn’t doing what I am doing is less than myself. I do not denigrate non frum Jews, nor Jews who are more modern than myself. I believe that everyone lives their life doing what they think they should be doing. Absolute right and wrong today does not exist and is relative according to the person, time and place. Why all this negativitiy towards chareidim – other Jews. You don’t have to agree with the protests etc but why the ugly thoughts and language. If you don’t understand where they are coming from why comment. You come across as being very anti semitic.
I think that all the hesder yeshivot should break army ties. The Gov’t is using this as a tactic to get the rabbis to support an evaccuation. The govt is trying to instill fear in any rabbi who opens his mouth.
Absolute right and wrong today does not exist and is relative according to the person, time and place
Excuse me???????????????????
My Grandsons, or some of them–were in Hesder.
They fully understood that there is no room in Hesder or indeed anywhere in the Israel Army for soldiers to refuse an order. They knew that that is akin to anarchy and the beginning of a system where anybody can disregard his commander , a system which would lead to one soldier possibly killing another.
Discipline must be upheld in the Army and this means you obey orders without question.
It is unbecoming and unhelpful for a group to cry Gevalt at the normal functions of everyday life namely living in a disciplind society.
By bad mouthing Ministers, brave men who risked their lives in the past so that there would be a Yeshiva in Israel today, these people show themselves up for what they are, unwitting enemies of Medinat Israel. Or perhaps that is their intent and purpose
,
Comment 23 is exactly what my last point referred to.
Stop the bobbe maynsers about courts of law and stop the bobbe maynsers abour
Barack a very brave soldier whose service, together with others and with Hashem`s direction enabled the whole of world jewry to be able to sit down and learn a Blatt in Ir Hakodesh.
A Rabbi–against almost all other Rabbis –said that the soldiers can disobey orders.
He is entitled to his opinion but he is not capable of leading soldiers. After all Hesdernikim are soldiers on another shlav of their service.
;
The comments equating a yeshiva with a university are off base.
No University head in Israel has suggested that soldiers not serve. The people that you are referring to are a couple of shmendrik professors who nobody but a few foreign press folks pay any attention to. The actual policy of Universities in Israel is to encourage students to serve.
Does anyone think that a University Professor has the same relationship to students as does a Rosh Yeshiva? Do university students go to professors for advice about the army? And if a professor does give his opinion, it does not have the weight of a psak. the comparison is silly.
No university has a relationship with the IDF similar to Hesder. A hesder student serves less than half the time of a regular soldier. If a student goes to University prior to service, he (or she) will then serve more time–5 years rather than 3 (or 2 in case of women). No discounts there.
Finally, keep in mind that the government is not cutting off all funds from Har Bracha. They still receive money from various ministries. Only this one program is canceled with Har Bracha-that of an arrangement (hesder) with the IDF. It takes two for an arrangement.