After Rabbis’ Letter, Hesder Yeshiva Association Says Students Will Enlist in Armored Corps Through Talks with Army, in Accordance with Halacha

Following the "rabbis’ letter" against yeshiva students serving in the Armored Corps, the Hesder Yeshiva Association clarified in an official letter that its council is in "ongoing dialogue with the IDF," and that yeshiva heads are "making every effort to enable the enlistment of yeshiva students to the Armored Corps this coming August."

The letter was sent to all heads of hesder yeshivot and was signed by members of the association’s council. The rabbis wrote that "since the Supreme Court ruling, council members have been acting in many ways to prevent a situation in which female soldiers will be integrated into service together with halacha-observant male fighters. We are not acting alone, but in cooperation with all rabbis of religious Zionism, both the rabbis of the advanced yeshivot and the rabbis of the preparatory academies, from all the streams that make up the national-religious Torah world."

It was also stated that "in recent weeks, many hours have been invested in meetings that cannot be detailed here, in order to clarify our unequivocal position that joint service of male and female fighters in a maneuvering unit is not possible for halacha-observant soldiers. We are in ongoing dialogue with the IDF, in order to allow halacha-observant soldiers to enlist in the Armored Corps in accordance with halacha. We will do everything possible to enable our students to enlist in the Armored Corps in the upcoming draft without harming their values."

At the end, it was clarified that "the letter published in the media in recent days regarding enlistment to the Armored Corps is not a letter of the council, issuing such a letter is contrary to our position." Sources in the association said the letter from the yeshiva heads was written by rabbis who were apparently not aware of what was happening behind the scenes, and that they represented only a small fraction of the hesder yeshivot, less than half of them.