Parents of Religious Soldiers in Rotem Battalion Demand Immediate IDF Intervention Over Religious and Logistical Issues

Parents of soldiers serving in the Bnei Hesder platoon of the Rotem Battalion, who are yeshiva students from Beit Shean and Mitzpe Ramon fighting in the Nahal Oz area of the Gaza Strip, have sent an urgent letter to the Hesder Yeshivot Union. They demand immediate intervention with senior IDF officials due to serious concerns about violations of their children's religious lifestyle alongside severe logistical, sanitary, and medical shortcomings.

The parents claim that recently, around 1:30 a.m., the soldiers were ordered to enter an armored personnel carrier with a paramedic, contradicting previous explicit assurances regarding the use of tanks and APCs. Following guidance from yeshiva heads Rabbi Kostiner and Rabbi Shoshan, the soldiers refused the order and have since faced threats and warnings, including potential confinement punishments.

Beyond religious infringements, the parents detail critical failures in food supply, hygiene, and medical care. They report that soldiers often receive their first meal only at 4:30 p.m., with poor quality and insufficient quantities. Sanitary conditions are described as deplorable, with infestations of bedbugs, rats, and mice causing infected bites and no pest control measures taken. Medically, an example is given of a soldier with hearing damage from previous combat who waited many hours for a doctor due to system overload.

The letter concludes with a call for the Hesder Yeshivot Union to act decisively with IDF command to halt any punishment against soldiers who upheld religious law, enforce proper integration standards, and urgently resolve the failures in food, sanitation, and medical support.