A Haredi draft proposal
How will this be accomplished? • A new corps – a Yeshiva Corps – will be formed. As befitting a democratic society, this corps, like all others in the army, will be open to all members of society who are able to live up to its standards – in this case summed up by the Mishna in Avot: “This is the way of Torah: bread dipped in salt will you eat, with water carefully rationed, on the ground will you sleep and live a life of deprivation as you strive in Torah study.”Read the whole thing. There's much to think about here, if the politicians are really interested in solving the problem. But they're probably not interested anyway.
• Soldiers serving in the corps will wear the uniform of the IDF, declare their loyalty to the state and to the army and accept upon themselves the military discipline and conduct considered the norm in the elite units of the IDF.
• Soldiers in the newly formed corps will serve in yeshivot housed on army bases and not in civilian areas.
• Service in the corps will be four years long, akin to the elite units of the IDF. At the end of the term of service, discharged soldiers will be free to integrate into civilian life with all the discharge benefits granted to IDF soldiers.
• Conditions on the bases will be identical to those that exist on combat bases in the IDF. Mess and housing will be of military standard. Weekend leaves will be granted on a bi- or tri-weekly basis. Other furloughs, including those for holidays, will conform to army standards for length and frequency. Sick leaves will only be issued by military physicians.
• The bein hazmanim vacation period in the Jewish months of Tishrei, Nisan and Av will not apply in military yeshivot. Should it be determined that on purely educational grounds there is a need for a break in regular studies, the time will be employed to provide the soldiers in the corps with basic military training so that they can act as guards on their bases.
• As the Torah study will be considered military service, soldiers in the corps will receive all the benefits and pay grade of soldiers of their rank and seniority in the IDF.
• It is recommended that the day commence with morning prayers at 6 a.m., followed with study sessions ending no earlier than 11 p.m. Acceptable breaks for meals and rest will be interspersed throughout the day.
Participation in the corps will be contingent on acceptance and conforming to the hours of the corps.
• Exams will be proctored at regular intervals to ensure that the soldiers are living up to the standards of the corps.
• The standards and curricula of the corps will be determined by a committee made up of members of the military and roshei yeshiva (yeshiva heads).
• The officers and commanders of the corps will be IDF officers as well as roshei yeshiva, to assure that the highest military and Torah standards are implemented.
• Those soldiers who cannot conform to the standards of the corps will be integrated into other units of the army.
Soldiers who remain in the corps but violate its standards will be liable to disciplinary measures or expulsion from the corps and integration into other army units.
• With the induction of the military yeshivot, the current “Torato umnato” exemption for “higher yeshivot” of either the haredi or religious Zionist streams will no longer be in effect.
• Hesder yeshivot, mechinot, yeshivot associated with the Nahal Haredi unit, and any other framework that expects its students to participate in more conventional units will not be affected. The study period in these institutions is considered preparatory for other military service.
Labels: draft, Haredim, hesder, IDF, Nachal Charedi
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:35 AM
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