The head of a leading Haredi hesder yeshiva says the current enlistment dispute has dragged on for years without solving anything, and that the recent wave of arrests has crossed a red line. In his view, detaining yeshiva students over Torah study is a moral and practical failure that only deepens resentment and will not produce recruits.
He argued that the authorities do not understand the Haredi public if they believe police operations and indictments can force enlistment. “This campaign of persecution,” he said, “has not brought and will not bring even one recruit. It only creates frustration, breaks trust, and closes the door to any real solution.”
The yeshiva leader said his group sent a letter this week to the country’s leadership under the title “Zekat HaSha’ah” (“The Cry of the Hour”), calling for an immediate halt to arrests and harassment through a one-year emergency order. During that year, he said, the sides should work on a structured, practical arrangement instead of continuing public confrontations.
He said the proposed plan would triple the number of Haredi hesder students within a year, provide appropriate funding, and expand service tracks to include police and civilian rescue units. It would also formalize the status of full-time Torah scholars so they can continue studying without fear of police action. He said Haredi hesder yeshivot have already shown that strict observance and security service can coexist, and urged the government to abandon coercion in favor of what he called the only realistic solution now on the table.
