Maran Rav Dov Landau, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Slabodka in Bnei Brak, has issued a directive to yeshiva bochurim advising them not to report to IDF conscription offices, emphasizing that they should not comply “not even after the initial summons.”
This instruction from Rav Landau was conveyed in a letter addressed to yeshiva students, which was published in Thursday’s edition of the Israeli Yated Ne’eman.
“We cannot depend on agreements and understandings with military leaders, as their actions are constrained by legal rulings, and any compliance with court decrees amounts to acquiescing in their battle against Hashem and His Torah,” wrote Rav Landau in the letter.
“For years, there has been an understanding with Israeli military authorities that yeshiva and kollel students would not be conscripted,” he added, “and thus, following the guidance of the great rabbonim of our generation, they cooperated with military authorities to arrange legal deferments, which included reporting to military offices to formalize their status as yeshiva students.
“Now, the situation has changed, with the courts waging war against the world of Torah,” continued Rav Landau, “initiating a new phase by directing the military to commence the actual conscription of yeshiva students.”
In his letter, Rav Landau emphasized that “the directive to yeshiva students is unequivocal: do not report to conscription offices at all, and disregard any summonses.”
Rav Landau’s letter comes in response to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s recent decision to endorse the IDF’s recommendation to issue the first recruitment orders to young chareidim starting next month, “in accordance with the IDF’s capacity for absorption and screening, following a thorough process of refining data on potential recruits.”
Additionally, Gallant approved an information campaign aimed at educating the haredi community about their options for military and national service.
{Matzav.com Israel}