Religious pre-army schools will send students to the Armored Corps in August

Despite recently signing a protest letter against the move, several leaders of hesder yeshivas told Channel 7 they will send their students to the Armored Corps in the coming enlistment cycle, in line with a decision by the assembly of yeshiva heads. The rabbis named included Alon Moreh head Rabbi Elikim Levanon, Or VeYeshua head Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Rechamim Zeini, Nir head Rabbi Noam Waldman, the Western Wall Yeshiva head Rabbi Baruch Wieder, and the hesder yeshiva heads in Holon, Rabbi Hagai Lundin and Rabbi Tal Shaulian. They said their students will enlist in August.

Their statement came after they had signed a letter opposing the move, out of concern that a planned November pilot to integrate female combat soldiers into the Armored Corps would undermine the implementation of the joint-service order. The announcement was made hours after the hesder yeshiva heads’ assembly, which included close to 50 heads of yeshivot, voted by a large majority to continue sending hesder students to the Armored Corps in the August draft.

Rabbi Levanon said, “At the meeting of the yeshiva heads it was decided that in August we send them to the Armored Corps, and afterwards, depending on developments, a decision will be made.” His position also affects Rabbi Shahar Imber, his co-head at Alon Moreh, and Rabbi Yaakov Yedid, head of the Carmiel Yeshiva and his student, who were also among the signatories.

Earlier, the Hesder Yeshivot Association said that after a long discussion and meetings with the IDF chief of staff and senior army officials, it had decided that hesder students would enlist in the Armored Corps this coming August. The decision was made amid debate over the November pilot for female combat soldiers in the corps and its implications for observant soldiers. The association said talks with the IDF would continue to ensure that hesder students can serve in accordance with halakha and the joint-service order, and noted that although the decision passed by an overwhelming majority, some minority voices argued for continued opposition to the current enlistment framework.