Rabbi Dov Landau, the spiritual leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community in Israle, issued a renewed call Wednesday for yeshiva students to refuse enlistment in the IDF.
In a handwritten letter published on the front page of Haredi outlet Yated Ne’eman, Landau accused the government of plotting to draft yeshiva students and warned of potential consequences if conscription is enforced.
“If, God forbid, they draft by force, we will not stand by idly,” Land0au wrote. “We will be forced to take actions we do not wish to take.” While he did not specify what those actions might be, a likely scenario could be the withdrawal of ultra-Orthodox parties from the governing coalition.
The letter was titled, “On our role as we approach the holiday of the Giving of the Torah and our stance against government officials openly plotting to draft Torah scholars.” Landau noted that for over a year, the legal exemption for full-time yeshiva students has remained unresolved. “Many in government are openly plotting to draft yeshiva students and time continues to pass without a solution.”
He reaffirmed the community’s absolute refusal to enlist: “Our constant concern is to ensure yeshiva and kollel students can study in peace, along with their families. If, heaven forbid, forced enlistment begins, we will not stand aside. We’ll have no choice but to act and we will stand united to protect each and every student from being drafted.”
Landau concluded with a reference to the upcoming Shavuot holiday: “As we approach the Shavuot, we must strengthen one another and our families. Our only mission is Torah study—the most noble and exalted role in all of creation.”
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Other senior rabbis have also hinted at a possible political crisis. Rabbi Nechemia Alter, son of Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter—leader of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger and political patron of Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf—spoke Tuesday night with Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the spiritual head of the Lithuanian faction within the United Torah Judaism party.
Alter reportedly urged the party to quit the coalition due to the government's failure to implement promised legislation formalizing military exemptions for yeshiva students.
Rabbi Hirsch didn’t dismiss the idea but said he first wanted to consult with Knesset members about the status of the law to exempt ultra-Orthodox men from enlistment. In the past, Hirsch has instructed lawmakers not to topple the government but to pressure it by withholding support on key coalition bills.
Three weeks ago, reports surfaced that the ultra-Orthodox factions were demanding visible progress on the exemption legislation by Shavuot—even if the law wasn't finalized. They set the holiday as a deadline and requested that the bill be brought at least to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee before the end of the summer session.