Thirteen More Hesder Yeshiva Heads Join Refusal to Send Students to Armor Corps

Thirteen hesder yeshiva heads announced today, Thursday, that they are stopping the enlistment of their students to the Armor Corps because women are being integrated into the branch. So far, 25 yeshivas, about one-third of all hesder yeshivas, have announced they are ending enlistment to the Armor Corps. The statement from the yeshiva heads came after the IDF Spokesperson responded to a letter from hesder yeshiva heads from the day before, who had already announced they were stopping the enlistment of their students to the Armor Corps. However, it was reported yesterday that the yeshiva heads clarified they are opposed to refusal to serve and that everyone will serve, but not in the Armor Corps. In the IDF response yesterday to the rabbis' announcement, it was clarified that במסגרת the pilot program to enlist female combat soldiers in the Armor Corps, there is no plan to conduct mixed service of men and women in the same framework. "After two and a half years of fighting, the IDF needs every soldier and soldier. Senior IDF officials have been in continuous contact in recent months with hesder yeshiva heads and their representatives, alongside other figures in the national-religious public," the army said in its statement.

In all, 25 hesder yeshivas have so far announced that they have stopped sending recruits to the Armor Corps, so because of the fixed allocation of hesder yeshivas in each enlistment cycle, this means hundreds of fighters will be missing from the Armor Corps as a result of the decision to integrate female combat soldiers. The yeshiva heads who joined the letter are Rabbi Michael Aharonov (Maalé Efrayim Yeshiva), Rabbi David Amitai (Avinoam Yeshiva), Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin (Lev Ladaat Yeshiva), Rabbi Eran Tamir (Orot Ashkelon Yeshiva), Rabbi Elisha Yanon (Afula Yeshiva), Rabbi Eyal Yaakovovitz (Safed Yeshiva), Rabbi Eliyahu Mali (Jaffa), Rabbi Avihu Fishfeder (Ashkelon Yeshiva), Rabbi Shlomo Shushan (Beit She'an Yeshiva), Rabbi Yehoshua Schmidt (Nahlat Yosef Yeshiva), Rabbi David Turgeman (Dimona Yeshiva), and two additional yeshiva heads who asked not to have their names published.

The rabbis emphasized that the meaning of the High Court of Justice's decision is the mixing of combat units, and wrote: "We are pained by the weak response of the State of Israel and the IDF, which did not express opposition to this move. As yeshiva heads, we are aware of the heavy responsibility placed on our shoulders. The IDF is the army of the people of Israel, and the sanctity of the camp is the foundation of its spirit and of success in defeating the enemy. The הכנסת of female soldiers into tanks together with male soldiers harms combat capability, both spiritually and practically."

The rabbis announced: "After serious consideration, we have decided that service in the Armor Corps is forbidden according to Jewish law, and therefore we will not send our students to serve in the Armor Corps starting with the next enlistment. Our thousands of students who enlist in combat units will continue to do so with mission and strength, but the IDF bears the responsibility to ensure that those with combat profiles who are not suited for infantry service are placed in a combat framework suited to their fighting spirit."

More on the topic, the IDF responds to the rabbis: There is no plan for mixed service of men and women. 12 hesder yeshiva heads threatened: We will not send soldiers to the Armor Corps