Chief Rabbi Urges IDF to Cancel Punishment for Soldiers Refusing to Board Evacuation Vehicle

Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar, has appealed to the IDF Chief of Staff and the Minister of Defense to cancel the disciplinary action against soldiers from the Givati Brigade. The soldiers were brought to trial after refusing to board a medical evacuation vehicle that contained a female paramedic.

In his letter, Rabbi Bar argued that the religious soldiers' right to observe their way of life must be considered. He warned that the decision to prosecute them could harm the integration of religious soldiers into the IDF. "I ask you with all my might to change the decision," he wrote.

Rabbi Bar contended that decisions with broad public impact should also consider their consequences, stating that alongside regulations, "common sense dictates" a broader consideration in certain situations. He criticized some IDF codes of conduct, suggesting they were established by academics and intellectuals not from a religious background. He asserted that alongside military codes, Halakha (Jewish law) principles and the religious soldier's right to maintain their lifestyle should be accommodated.

"Where have the rights of the religious soldier disappeared, for whom certain phenomena contradict their way of life?" Rabbi Bar questioned. "Do they not have the right to serve because their worldview prevents them from doing anything?" He called for revising regulations to accommodate observant soldiers.

Addressing Hesder Yeshiva students and religious soldiers enlisting for combat roles, Rabbi Bar stated that prosecuting these soldiers could jeopardize their integration into the military. "Such an action, to prosecute soldiers whose sole concern is to maintain the sanctity of the camp, could bring disaster upon the need to integrate everyone into this effort," he wrote.

He concluded by urging the Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister to reverse their decision, imploring them to consider his words.