Shderot Hesder Rabbis Urge IDF Chief to Reverse Course Over Yigal Levinstein Snub

Leaders of the Hesder yeshiva in Shderot published a sharp protest letter after reports that Rabbi Yigal Levinstein was removed from the guest list for a planned meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. The meeting was meant to address how to integrate soldiers from the religious Zionist sector into the Armored Corps while preserving their religious lifestyle.

The letter, signed by Rabbi David Pendel and Rabbi Dror Aryeh, said they were protesting “the severe damage to the honor of Torah scholars,” especially Levinstein, whom they described as a spiritual leader who has raised generations of fighters, officers, and observant soldiers loyal to Israel and the IDF. They also stressed the contribution of graduates of the Bnei David pre-army academy in Eli to the military and security establishment.

In the strongest passage, the rabbis addressed Zamir directly: “We appeal directly to the chief of staff, reverse yourself.” They said a military leader at such a “critical time” should come to Levinstein, listen carefully and with an open heart, and hear the objections about gender mixing and the introduction of agendas they say weaken the army’s strength and the value of victory.

The letter was published amid widening outrage in religious Zionist circles, following C14’s report that the exclusion of Levinstein sparked a boycott by heads of pre-army academies. The rabbis said their criticism came from deep love for the IDF, not hostility toward it, and argued that Levinstein was warning on an issue touching “the core of the nation.”