Rabbi argues Torah requires IDF enlistment and rejects exemptions

A Hebrew opinion piece argues that Jewish law obligates military service and that any Basic Law on Torah study must explicitly recognize the duty to enlist in the IDF. The author says the Torah commands participation in a "milchemet mitzvah," a mandatory war of aiding Israel when under threat, and claims that anyone who can fight must join, without exemptions.

The article cites the biblical command "do not stand idly by your neighbor's blood" and attributes to Maimonides the duty to rescue any Jew in danger, then extends that logic to what it calls the higher obligation of fighting in a defensive war for Israel. It says people who refuse this framework and insist on a "Torah of exile," without state, army, or mandatory war, cannot be part of a Torah Basic Law in the State of Israel.

The writer says legislators in the Knesset should first establish clearly that the Torah received from God requires enlistment of everyone able to fight in a "milchemet mitzvah" for Israel's defense. Otherwise, the author argues, religious Torah students in Israel are still living like Jews of the diaspora, without sovereignty, a Jewish state, a parliament, or Basic Laws.

To test the principle, the piece asks whether Haredi yeshivot pray on Sabbaths and holidays for the welfare of the State of Israel, IDF soldiers, and the security forces. It concludes that if they do not, the implication is that only in Israel would they avoid praying for the ruling authority, unlike Haredi communities abroad. The article says the current situation makes enlistment even more necessary because the IDF needs soldiers more than before, and therefore this is plainly a "milchemet mitzvah."