"We are deeply dismayed by the efforts in Eretz Yisroel to draft B’nei
Yeshiva [yeshiva students] and remove them from the Beis Medrash
[yeshiva study halls], the wellspring of Torah to which they dedicate
their days and nights…the perseverance and security of Hashem’s [God’s]
people are rooted in its dedication to Torah study ..."
Agudah Rabbis Call On Israeli Government To Block The Military Draft of Haredim
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Agudath Israel of America’s Council of Torah Sages, the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America, released a statement today opposing a military draft of haredi yeshiva students in Israel and calling on the Government of Israel to maintain the status quo that until recently exempted those tens of thousands of haredi yeshiva students from military service, the JTA reported.
"We are deeply dismayed by the efforts in Eretz Yisroel to draft B’nei Yeshiva [yeshiva students] and remove them from the Beis Medrash [yeshiva study halls], the wellspring of Torah to which they dedicate their days and nights…the perseverance and security of Hashem’s [God’s] people are rooted in its dedication to Torah study ..."
Israel’s university students have never been exempt from military service, and the greatest doctors and academics in the country not only served years on active duty, but many also do miluim, reserve duty, for several weeks each year just like other Jewish israelis do – except the haredim.
The overwhelming majority of Israelis want to “equalize the burden” by drafting haredim.
Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled the haredi draft exemptions illegal in February 2012.
Even so, the pro-haredi government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dragged its feet, rejecting various proposed plans to draft haredim and blocking others while Netanyahu looks for a solution that will still allow haredi political parties to support him and keep him in power.