Israeli Yeshiva Promotes Halakha Over Democracy, Critics Warn
The Bnei David preparatory academy in Eli, established in 1988, is reportedly promoting a worldview that seeks to replace Israel's liberal democracy with a Halakha-based state. Rabbis and instructors at the institution, which is meant to be state-funded and patriotic, are accused of delivering lessons that disparage women, entire populations, incite religious persecution, and undermine fundamental human and democratic norms.
Concerns are raised about the academy's explicit hostility towards liberal democracy. In lectures, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein reportedly labels Religious Zionism as the "greatest enemy of the liberal regime" for seeking to confine religion to the private sphere. He argues that the liberal regime aims to prevent Judaism from having a public voice, contrasting this with Religious Zionism's emphasis on public Jewish observance. Another instructor, Rabbi Yosef Kelner, is cited as teaching that enforcing religious law is a "religious obligation," a claim that contradicts the views of many prominent Orthodox rabbis and is not based on established Halakha. Kelner also allegedly advocates for criminal punishment, including imprisonment, for those who do not observe commandments like donning tefillin, drawing parallels to military service obligations.
The academy's teachings also reportedly extend to views on the military and women. Some instructors allegedly reject the IDF's role as a defensive army, instead portraying it as a "conquest army" tasked with occupying all of the Land of Israel, even beyond current sovereign borders. Regarding women, instructors are said to assert that their role is primarily domestic and criticize their service in the IDF, despite professional research suggesting women's service enhances security. Rabbi Kelner is quoted disparagingly about women's intelligence and capabilities.
Furthermore, the academy's instructors reportedly express derogatory views towards LGBTQ+ individuals, labeling them as "sick" and a "threat to the Jewish people and the State of Israel." They are also accused of promoting explicitly racist views towards Arabs, with one rabbi allegedly stating that Arabs have "genetic problems" and are incapable of self-governance, suggesting they should be subjugated. The academy's teachings also reportedly include insults directed at other Jewish streams, such as Reform Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and Haredim, labeling them as "venomous Christians," "intellectually and morally defeated," and an "insult to intelligence," respectively.
The article highlights the potential danger stemming from the academy's ideology, noting a contradiction between the legal requirement for educators to be loyal to a "Jewish, Zionist, and democratic state" and the academy's curriculum, which allegedly views liberal democracy as an obstacle. The systematic integration of the academy's graduates into key positions within the security and public service sectors raises concerns about undermining the principle of the military as a professional, state-run body subject to civilian oversight. The academy's leaders are described as using ostensibly democratic tools, such as building political majorities and promoting legislation, to achieve their goal of replacing liberal democracy with a Halakha-based state, making the process difficult to identify and halt.
