[The Sentry]

Real life stories. Documents. Quotes.

 

Reb Shlomo Lorincz z”l related that he asked the first Israeli Prime Minister sher”i toward the end of his life; “Is there anything that you did in your lifetime that you regret?” He thought that perhaps the shmading of yaldei Tehran or other wicked deeds would be forthcoming. Ben Gurion answered; “Indeed! I regret absolving the Bnei HaYeshivos of the army draft! When I issued their release from the draft I a was told that there are 600 bocherim and avreichim, including some ninety year old yungerleit in Eitz Chaim. I said; ‘Today there are 600, however in 30 years there won’t be a single one! The youth are in our hands, and we will ‘educate’ them so that in 30 years there won’t be a single yeshiva bocher left!” At the time the Ponovezher Rav proclaimed; “I disagree! In 30 years every corner of Eretz Yisroel will be full of Torah!” Of course the Ponovezher Rav was correct, and that only causes the torch-bearers of Ben Gurion to be more consumed with regret. They are thus strongly motivated to change the state of military exemptions of talmidei hayeshivos.

The media was reporting that the coalition had come to an internal agreement, and this week was going to try to pass the new draft law through the second and third readings [before the spring break]. Baruch Hashem it is now being reported that that the vote was postponed and will certainly not happen during the winter session of the Knesset.

Last week, late one night in Beit Shemesh, a yungerman was involved in hanging signs asking visitors to dress modestly while in the neighborhood. This type of action is very disturbing to some citizens and authorities, and someone called the police to report the perpetrator. The yungerman was immediately arrested. When his file was pulled-up, the police realized that he was a Gibor Chayil – Ben Aliya , one who has never reported to the draft offices, and he was subsequently handed over to the military police. The yungerman Reb Simcha Bunim [ben Matil Malka] Teitelbaum is from the Anshei Yishuv Hayashan [i.e. Yerushalmi] and is the father of five children.

It is important to note that in the past few years the arrest and transfer of such “draft-dodgers” to the military police has almost come to a standstill. This is because the authorities understand that their greatest ally in advancing the drafting of chareidim is the silencing of the issue. When a “draft-dodger” of the “Ben Aliya” group is arrested it creates a massive furor. They therefore seek to avoid anything that will create attention to their plans.

And that is exactly what happened. On Sunday a massive protest took place in Yerushalayim over the arrest of this yungerman, and also to cry out over the impending passing of the new draft law. The entrance and exit of Yerushalayim was blocked for hours by the “comrade-in-arms” of Reb Simcha Bunim, the Litvish Bnei Aliya who don’t report to the draft offices. And within Yerushalayim as well, the streets were jammed by a second protest of the Anshei Yishuv Hayashan. Thus tens of thousands merited to heard the cry of “The gezeiras giyus is a gezeiras shmad”, and “Namut v’lo nitgayeis – We would rather die than enlist in the army.”  

And again on Tuesday in Bnei Brak another immense protest was arranged. And at the same time, the Anshei Yishuv Hayashan also staged a second protest outside of Beit Shemesh.

Although the effects of the protests are far-reaching and impossible to completely gauge, a few immediate story were witnessed. One of the protestors met a chareidi soldier at the protest on Sunday. The soldier told him; “Protest with all your strength. I am in the army against my will. I am trying for months to get away from the army.” Another chareidi soldier was so inspired from the protest that he was seen smashing his Smartphone. He too expressed that he was forced into conscripting into the military, and he has come to realize that it is the most depraved places on earth.

 

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