YESHIVA STUDENTS WARNED: Committee Issues Special Instructions Amid Draft Arrests
The Committee of Yeshivas in Eretz Yisrael issued unusual and detailed instructions Tuesday to tens of thousands of Chareidi yeshiva bochurim amid growing concerns over military draft enforcement and the arrests of students whose enlistment status has not been resolved. The directive was circulated ahead of the opening of the winter zman.
The committee urged students to exercise heightened caution when dealing with military authorities and to avoid situations that could result in legal complications. It also warned about approaching border crossings without properly arranging their status.
The instructions addressed bureaucratic procedures involving documentation submitted to the military. The committee emphasized that necessary paperwork must be filed before an official enlistment date because military authorities may refuse to consider documents submitted after that deadline.
Special guidance was also provided to foreign-resident yeshiva students who hold Israeli citizenship. Such students were instructed to arrange their status through Israeli consulates before traveling to Israel to avoid complications and possible financial penalties.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
CHAREIDI COMMUNITY UNDER ATTACK: Yaakov Asher Blasts Smotrich And Bennett Over Election Rhetoric
Degel HaTorah chairman MK Yaakov Asher delivered a sharp response Tuesday morning to attacks on the Chareidi community, accusing prominent political figures of spreading hostility toward Torah-observant Jews. Speaking at the Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth election conference, Asher singled out Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Asher criticized rhetoric portraying Chareidim as a burden on Israeli society, warning that such statements were deepening divisions within the Jewish population. He argued that disagreements concerning military service and public policy must not become a justification for attacking an entire religious community.
Turning directly to Smotrich, Asher said the Religious Zionism chairman had crossed a red line in his statements about Chareidim. He accused the finance minister of acting under intense electoral pressure while failing to demonstrate comparable determination on legislative priorities important to Chareidi parties. Asher also criticized Bennett for what he described as a change in his approach toward Torah learning and the Chareidi sector.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
LIBERMAN DECLARES WAR ON CHAREIDI EDUCATION: Calls For Dismantling Independent Torah School Networks
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman declared Tuesday that his party would demand sweeping changes to government funding for Chareidi schools, including dismantling the independent educational networks serving hundreds of thousands of religious students. Speaking at an election conference, Liberman said state education should become the exclusive framework for publicly funded schools.
Liberman specifically targeted the Chinuch Atzmai network and the Shas-affiliated Maayan Hachinuch Hatorani system, both of which play central roles in providing Torah-based education to Chareidi families throughout Israel.
The former finance minister also issued a warning about Israel’s demographic future, predicting that the country could have a Chareidi prime minister by 2048. He argued that the state’s economic and social structures would face serious difficulties long before that point unless existing arrangements were changed.
The proposal represents a direct challenge to the educational independence of the Chareidi community. If pursued in coalition negotiations, it would likely provoke fierce opposition from Torah leaders and Chareidi political representatives, turning the future of independent religious education into another major flashpoint in Israel’s already contentious election campaign.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
EXCLUSIVE: Pindrus to YWN: Degel Won’t Join Any Government Until Draft Issue Is Resolved [WATCH ENGLISH INTERVIEW]
MK Yitzchak Pindrus told YWN’s Reuven Biala in an exclusive interview at the Knesset on Tuesday that Degel HaTorah will not join any government until the draft issue is resolved, saying promises from a coalition are not enough.
Asked whether he trusts Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to deliver a law protecting yeshiva bachurim, Pindrus said, “What makes us confident? Nothing makes us confident.” He added, “what makes us confident is that we’re doing the most hishtadlus.”
“We’re not going to join a government because this government is going to promise us,” he said. “We’re not going to join any government until it’s going to be solved.”
Pindrus recalled that in 2023, the government was expected to advance the legal reform on October 10, with October 1 also discussed in light of the Yamim Tovim and the legislative calendar. Then came October 7.
“Everybody knows what happened October 7. The rest is history. Isn’t that Yad Hashem? It is Yad Hashem,” he said.
Asked about smaller Chareidi parties, including one seeking support from English-speaking voters, Pindrus said he did not expect them to draw significant numbers of votes away from Gimmel. “Maybe in very small numbers and percentages, not really,” he said.
MK Yitzchak Pindrus speaks with YWN’s Reuven Biala during an exclusive interview at the Knesset.
Pindrus was also asked about the possibility of joining a government led by Gadi Eisenkot or other left-wing parties. He said Degel would not join any government until the draft issue was resolved, and asked whether he saw left-wing parties solving the problem. “Maybe if they all do teshuva in two weeks,” he said.
The interview also addressed Degel’s political bloc and Rav Dov Landau’s position on leaving the right-wing bloc. Pindrus said the current election had become an unprecedented “yes Netanyahu, no Netanyahu” contest. He noted that MK Moshe Gafni had never favored signing a bloc agreement in advance.
“We’re not part of anything. We’re very clear about what we want, what we’re focusing on,” Pindrus said.
Asked about Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remarks about Rav Landau, in which he mentioned the Rosh Yeshiva in the same sentence as Avigdor Lieberman, Pindrus said the best outcome would be for Degel HaTorah to win 61 seats on its own. He then joked that another possibility would be 61 seats together with Shas.
Pindrus said the party’s central concern is that yeshiva bachurim be able to learn without fear of arrest, regardless of who leads a government. “We don’t care what the name of the person is, if he puts on Rabbeinu Tam or not, what type of kashrus he uses—that’s not the issue,” he said. “When yeshiva bachurim can’t go down the street, they can be arrested, and it depends on the mood of some kind of attorney general or some kind of cop. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t work.”
Asked why American-Israeli voters should support Gimmel beyond the instruction of the Gedolei Yisroel, Pindrus said the party is one of the tools that helped preserve and build the Chareidi community in Eretz Yisrael over the past 80 years.
He pointed to the Chareidi towns and institutions that developed over that time, including the Mir and Brisk, saying they were built by following the guidance of Gedolei Yisroel.
“A political party is one of the tools,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s the only tool. It’s one of the tools.”
Pindrus said the community’s growth came through decades of guidance as it faced changing circumstances, from becoming a larger community to gaining a majority in some cities and representation in the Knesset. He cited growth from 20,000 people in 1948 to 1.4 million.
https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2609611/exclusive-pindrus-to-ywn-degel-wont-join-any-government-until-draft-issue-is-resolved-watch-english-interview.html
commenter to above: “[…] they’re not going to respect and exempt the ones that learn either, not in this dirty climate”
