Do you really believe that you can draft 100,000 yeshiva students by force? How will there be enough land for the prisons necessary for them if there isnt enough land for young couples? The new government will need to deal with a big hole in the budget, and if you will take them all to prison, it will cost the government much more... The Nahal Haredi is funded mostly by a rich Jew from Los Angeles, and not by the army. If you are talking about drafting through non-haredi frameworks, I am telling you - the yeshiva students will bring your children back to Judaism. You won't recognize them when they come back from their service.
-- MK Menachem Wliezer Mozes (UTJ)
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I take issue with Rabbi Moses on several points:
ReplyDelete1) The bottom line is that where is the funding for education supposed to come from? Even among many Charedim who do work it is "under the table" so taxes are not being paid. Even more from the majority who aren't working.
2) Here in RBS I have seen many boys go into the army and come out even stronger than they went in. Nachal Charedi and Hesder both provide "safe" environments for our boys to serve and daven in a minyan, keep kosher, learn and be shielded from questionable influences.
The bottom line is that many (not all) in the Charedi world have become comfortable with the idea that we won't serve and won't pay taxes (even when we do work).
"If you are talking about drafting through non-haredi frameworks, I am telling you - the yeshiva students will bring your children back to Judaism. You won't recognize them when they come back from their service."
ReplyDeleteGood, so what's the big issue? This is the greatest kiruv opportunity ever, UTJ and Shas should be leading the way on ending the yeshiva student draft exemption.
As for jail, he's right, that would be a terrible idea. They should simply end all subsidies and stipends relating to yeshivas and kollels in which most of the students do not serve in the army. I don't see how anyone could have the chutzpah to complain about losing funding from a country they are not willing to help defend.
There are flaws in what he say.
ReplyDelete1) While 32% of the children are in haredi systems, not all (far from it) are governement funded, and those that are only partially, unlike regular governemental schools which fully depends on the governement. So the maths of Mozes have no meaning. He's just manipulating numbers (and then he will be the first to accuse others of doing the same).
2)If a full draft of the haredim would get almost all of the others chayalim back to judaism, they should be themselves the ones pushing the draft...
3) Which is worse for ensuring that the young haredim will keep their way of life, prison or army ?
As far as I know (I never got arrested), it's much more dangerous for their lifestyle in prison...
Mike, An overhall is needed. It is a shame that more rabbis do not realize the inevitability of the draft of increasing numbers of Haredim, and join in to be part of the solution (or damage control). The Hesder system is on it's way out. This is yet, another example of the gov't's desire to wipe any "dangerous" Torah knowledge, which may suggest that the Holy State is not always perfect.
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