IDF's struggle against Haredi deferral seekers
The enlistment process and procedure for deferrals for yeshiva students is only getting stricter, but the ultra-Orthodox are finding some ways around it to avoid the dreaded army service.
The process of examining thousands of requests for exemption from service of ultra-Orthodox youth has been intensified in recent years, and in response, a new yeshiva students unit was established at the induction center where Haredi youths are instructed on how to gain a deferral and avoid military service.
Documents and new recorded testimonies that Ynet received reveal what is happening behind the closed doors of the yeshiva students unit.
In one of the cases, it was found that at the conclusion of an interview of A., an 18-year-old ultra-Orthodox man who asked for deferral of enlistment, the head of the yeshiva students' department in the military, Major Ya'akov Roshi—who was at the center of the ultra-Orthodox protest against enlistment in the past year—didn't seem to think of him as a real yeshiva student.
"He arrived with a deferral he received for studying in a yeshiva in Jerusalem and before that he attended another yeshiva for only two hours a day," Roshi wrote. "The rest of the time he just walked around the yeshiva. He said that he and his brother were just sitting there 'scratching their balls' most of the time, and he worked as a cleaner from 5pm each day.
"He arrived with an exaggerated mane of hair. He spoke rudely and disrespectfully. He is not really a yeshiva student, in speech or behavior, and as he said he does not study."
On the other hand, A. had a slightly different version. According to a military document he presented to Ynet, he told the soldier who interviewed him that he was studying for nine hours a day at the yeshiva.
Another ultra-Orthodox youth said: "In the yeshiva students department, they look at as in a negative light if we come without a suit and hat, even though an ultra-Orthodox man can also wear a skullcap, black pants and a white buttoned shirt. We are already trained and briefed on how to succeed in the process (of getting an exemption—ed), but the other side (the IDF recruitment branch) is also learning and improving and is really looking in every nook and cranny so as not to give the exemption."
The IDF, for its part, does not intend to cease their policy of inspecting the real situation of the thousands of Haredi exemption applicants.
About a year ago, Ynet revealed that 4,000 ultra-Orthodox who received draft exemptions were found on Facebook to lead a secular lifestyle, contrary to their declaration. In some of the cases they were found bathing on mixed beaches in minimal clothing, going out to clubs and smoking during the Sabbath.
On the other hand, ultra-Orthodox activists are laboring at the entrance to the induction center with information booths for ultra-Orthodox youth, where they tell them how to behave, what their rights are, what they must answer and what not, and how to 'not fall into the trap' and not be tempted in a way that will ultimately lead to the ranks of the IDF.
"The IDF operates on a variety of levels in order to ensure the proper procedure of a candidate for the title of 'yeshiva student,'" said the IDF spokesperson in response. "In exceptional cases where there is a need, applications and social networks are used for this purpose.
"The IDF operates under the Security Service Law, and as a result, a Yeshiva student is entitled to receive a deferral on the condition that he complies with all of the rules—including submitting the request for deferral on time, proving that he is a full-time Yeshiva student and preoccupies himself solely with Torah study as required.
"In the case in question, after interviews in the recruitment office, it was determined that the young man did not meet the conditions for enlistment deferral, with an emphasis on not fulfilling his obligation to study in the yeshiva for the required hours. In addition, since the young man earns his living, which is a gross violation of the rules of deferral, his status (as a yeshiva student) was revoked and he was enlisted to the army."
