Shas Party Leader Derides Calls for Haredi IDF Draft

Arie Deri, chairman of the Shas party, stated that politicians should not call on young Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), asserting that this is the army's responsibility to manage.

Speaking on the radio station Kol Barama, Deri argued, "I don't need to call for enlistment. The army that knows how to bomb in Iran can also deal with this. The army doesn't want Haredim. It gives them a very big headache. They want a secular army, not soldiers who listen to rabbis."

Deri characterized the demand for enlistment as a long-standing "smokescreen" that was not an issue until the recent revelation of a "small and technological army's" shortcomings, which he claimed sparked the current controversy.

He questioned who would determine which young men should study Torah and which should serve in the army, emphasizing that the Torah is intended for those who wish to study it. Deri added that the struggle is to ensure that anyone who desires to learn Torah can do so. He concluded that until the army establishes genuine enlistment tracks, approved by senior rabbis, that properly accommodate Torah scholars, there will be a problem. Only after rabbis decide on the status of Torah learners, he suggested, can discussions about those who do not study take place.