Rabbi Dov Landau, the foremost spiritual leader of Israel’s Lithuanian (non-Hasidic Haredi) community, issued a renewed call Tuesday against military service for yeshiva students, amid renewed political efforts to advance a contentious draft law.
A letter addressed to yeshiva heads was published in the Haredi daily Yated Ne’eman, reiterating a strict prohibition on reporting for army service. The letter was released as lawmakers considered removing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chair Yuli Edelstein in an effort to push forward the draft legislation, which is backed by Haredi parties.
The letter stated that following the cancellation of legal exemptions for all yeshiva students and the government’s failure to meet the demands of top rabbinic authorities, the Committee for Yeshivot (Vaad HaYeshivot) was issuing updated guidance for students.
Among the instructions, the letter restricted travel abroad between the conclusion of the Tisha B’Av mourning period and the start of the Elul semester. “No one may leave the country for any purpose without receiving explicit permission from their rosh yeshiva (dean),” the letter said.
The committee also issued a warning to those considering independent action without rabbinic approval. “Under instructions from our sages, we seek to deter anyone who tries to exempt themselves from the collective responsibility and act on their own, seeking to resolve their status through other means, based on advice from so-called ‘experts,’” the letter stated. “We issue a call not to take any action outside the guidance of our rabbis.”
The statement also criticized the IDF and the attorney general’s office, which it accused of issuing threats against yeshiva students. “Despite all threats from the army and draconian orders issued by the attorney general’s office—threatening arrests and roadblocks for yeshiva students—the study of Torah continues with vigor in all yeshivot,” the letter said. It quoted Rabbi Landau as having repeatedly stated: “No yeshiva student, no kollel scholar, shall go to the army, under any circumstances, in any form. He who seeks counsel from our elders will not stumble.”
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Rabbi Landau serves as the leading authority behind Yated Ne’eman, the daily newspaper affiliated with the non-Hasidic Degel HaTorah party. His directives, often published on the paper’s front pages, cover areas including childrearing, Torah study, political positions, and repeated rejections of military draft orders. Other senior rabbis are occasionally listed alongside him as a show of unity and authority.
Known for his uncompromising stance, Rabbi Landau refuses to engage in dialogue with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or senior military officials, opposing in principle any direct contact with representatives of Israeli state authority. He has previously blamed the Zionist movement for both spiritual and physical harm to the Jewish people, saying: “Zionism came with the belief that it would save the Jewish people, but in practice, it brought disasters—both spiritual and physical. Never before have the Arabs hated so much, all around the world.”