Rabbi Yigal Levinstein Rejects Claims Linking IDF Soldier Shortage to Haredi Draft Refusal

Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, head of the pre-military academy 'Bnei David' in Eli, strongly criticized attempts to connect the shortage of soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to the non-enlistment of yeshiva students. In an interview with Ziv Maor and Menachem Mann on Galei Yisrael's 'Night Journal' program, Levinstein called this narrative a media and public relations spin that has unnecessarily created division within the religious and broader Israeli society. "It is wrong to say there is a shortage of soldiers because of the Haredi community," he stated, citing historical data to support his claim. Levinstein noted that the Haredim have never been drafted in significant numbers and that the manpower issue originated elsewhere.

He highlighted that after the Yom Kippur War, Israel, with a population half of today's size, maintained 14 reserve divisions, whereas today there are only six. Levinstein himself served in the military after the Yom Kippur War, emphasizing that at that time there were no Haredim in the IDF and very few religious Zionists. This, he argued, disproves the claim that the current soldier shortage stems from the Haredi sector's draft refusal.

Levinstein expressed deep regret over the growing tension between the religious Zionist community, which bears a heavy burden in the ongoing conflict, and the Haredi public. He accused various parties of deliberately fueling this discord. "They succeeded in sowing discord between us and this community," he said, warning that coercion and accusations will not alleviate the military's manpower crisis. He called for a respectful process acknowledging the ideological separation of the Haredi population from the state, stating that without such an approach, the reserve duty burden will not be eased even slightly.