"A friend of mine walked into the dining hall and asked as what does 'gay' mean. He's a righteous person and he really didn't know what it means. He went to the yeshiva head and told him how they had laughed at him at the draft office. When he asked to be examined by a man instead of a woman, they asked, 'Why, are you gay?'
Ynet has more on the story I first reported last week – haredi objections to IDF draft physicals.
Haredi leaders were reportedly very upset to learn that haredi recruits were being subjected to physicals that are “not in accordance with the haredi lifestyle.”
At first, it was thought that the problem was that female doctors and nurses sometimes conducted the exams.
Then it became clear that haredim were objecting to testicle checks (done to detect hernias and testicular cancer).
Now Ynet reports that haredim have threatened to hold a mass protest unless the army finalizes an agreement with them to curtail the problematic exams, and it adds to the list of the problematic behaviors for the haredim:
…The IDF said…that during the meeting held between army representatives and [UTJ] lawmakers, the parties agreed on issues related to the draft process of the haredi population.
"The proposed adjustments include conducting personal interviews by men only and editing the questions in order to match the haredi society's lifestyle," the army said in a statement. "As for the issue of the physical checkup, it should be noted that every military service candidate is given the right to choose the gender of the examining doctor."
The crisis began in recent days after the rabbis realized that the army was preparing to draft many haredim, and particularly after yeshiva students complained that they had been required to undergo humiliating checkups (of their testicles, for example) - some by women.…
One yeshiva student told Ynet, "A friend of mine walked into the dining hall and asked as what does 'gay' mean. He's a righteous person and he really didn't know what it means. He went to the yeshiva head and told him how they had laughed at him at the draft office. When he asked to be examined by a man instead of a woman, they asked, 'Why, are you gay?'
"The army has lost its mind," the student added. "They don't understand what such a yeshiva student goes through. When he takes the bus for one hour he makes sure that it's a kosher bus, and here they just throw him into a secular environment with girls for a whole day of checkups?! People came back from there in complete shock. It's no wonder the rabbis responded the way they did."…
So being examined for hernias and testicular cancer is out because it is "humiliating," and being asked if you have ever had sex with another man – a standard question asked in physicals everywhere all over the world – is also out because hearing the words "sex," "gay," and "homosexual" are "not in accord with the haredi lifestyle."
That lots of haredi yeshiva students have had sex with other men (or as children were sexually abused by a man) can't now be taken into account by the IDF because it "offends" haredi leaders. Sad.
Related Posts:
Haredim Worry, Quarrel OverMedical Exams.
Haredim Object To IDF Testicle Exams As “Not In Accord With Haredi Lifestyle.”