Recently, the major ultra-Orthodox sects have aligned with the Lithuanian Haredi and Sephardic rabbis concerning the issue of being drafted to the IDF, and instructed the young men who received their draft notice not to report to the Defense Ministry's recruiting offices.
A few weeks ago, the rebbes of the Gur, Vizhnitz and Belz hasidic sects decided not to make dramatic statements against the government and the security establishment, but rather instruct their students who received the draft notice to report to the recruitment offices at this stage. The rebbes asked to check whether it was enlistment or only registration, to examine the possibility of draft exemption in the future.
After the IDF issued thousands of draft notices to the ultra-Orthodox youth, the Gur Haredim, the largest Hasidic group in Israel and the most influential one in Israel, changed course and ordered its young people not to report to the IDF. The one who gave the order is Rabbi Avraham Binyamin Zilberberg, chairman of the Hasidic education committee, which he passed on to the young people of the Gur community. The Rebbe of Gur has great influence and other small Hasidic communities which can hinder the states' conscription process.
The Vizhnitz Hasidim, which initially took a moderate stance, eventually joined the campaign against conscription. The Hasidic leader of Gur, who is on vacation in Britain, told his Hasidim: "Together with the entire nation, we are very pained by the difficult situation in the country, which has been in trouble for 10 months in captivity at the hands of our enemies. Many fell by the sword and the ongoing state of war causes continued bloodshed." He also said: "The Torah is the salvation of the people living in Zion, and they rose up against us with a terrible conscription decree, trying to recruit Torah scholars whose Torah protects this land."
"That's why I ordered my son to sign the letter not to show up at the recruiting office and I'm announcing that he shouldn't show up at all. All adults and young people must cease all contact with the military and the national conscription officials." However, he later hinted at the possibility of changing his policy in the future, adding: "If there is a change, I will inform you about this before the month of Elul," which begins on September 3.
Haredim protest near recruitment office
(Video: Shilo Freid, Gil Yohanan)
The Belz Hasidim have not officially issued their order to not report to the recruitment offices, but it was reported that some would see them align with the other Hasidic communities in their call to avoid conscription. In doing so, these Hasidic groups form an ultra-Orthodox coalition against enlisting in the IDF.
Only 70 Haredi men have turned up to the recruitment offices after receiving draft notices out of the thousands who received the summons. On Wednesday, only seven Haredi men arrived at the recruiting office in Jerusalem. The extreme Haredim often wait near the offices and pressure the potential recruits to avoid the conscription.