Ultra-Orthodox organizations that oppose enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces say they are increasingly concerned about young Haredi men from the United States who come to Israel for a year of yeshiva study and then seek to enlist. Dozens have already joined, they say, even though many are not Israeli citizens and are not subject to mandatory service.
In the most recent draft cycle to the Tomer Battalion, the ultra-Orthodox unit in the Givati Brigade, nearly all recruits were ultra-Orthodox foreign volunteers, with only a handful of Israeli ultra-Orthodox. Elsewhere in the IDF, officials have identified similar interest, particularly after two years of war, during which many of the students experienced rocket sirens and fighting while in Israel and wanted to take part in the war effort.
Rabbi Yehoshua Eichenstein speaks to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from abroad
(Video: Agudim)
This week, the organization Ezram U’Meginam, which assists detainees and recipients of draft notices and operates on behalf of the Degel HaTorah party, held a gathering to launch a new initiative aimed at preventing young people from abroad from enlisting. The initiative, called Agudim, includes a telephone hotline for those considering enlistment, as well as outreach and persuasion efforts.
The gathering featured several senior rabbis, led by Rabbi Yehoshua Eichenstein, a U.S.-born head of the Yad Aharon yeshiva, a prominent Degel HaTorah figure and one of the owners of the ultra-Orthodox daily Yated Ne’eman. Addressing hundreds of students from abroad, Eichenstein argued that American ultra-Orthodox youth lack a full understanding of Israeli society and warned that enlistment serves a broader ideological agenda.
He said the state was founded on “the religion of Zionism,” that the army was designed to create a new national identity, and that claims of “sharing the burden” mask an effort to weaken religious observance. He also accused senior military and judicial officials of fearing the growing political power of the ultra-Orthodox and seeking to turn them into former observant Jews.
Eichenstein cited religious Zionist leaders who have warned that many soldiers enter the army observant and leave less religious and claimed that large parts of the military promote secularization, even if some commanders try to accommodate religious needs. He also alleged problematic conduct involving hesder yeshiva soldiers during the war. The event’s moderator concluded by urging participants to heed rabbinic guidance and invoked the biblical call, “Whoever is for God, come to me.”