"Every day, concerned parents arrive at the rabbi's house to inquire
what they should do when their child received a call-up notice, and the
rabbi always gives the same answer: 'Nothing, and if he is arrested – we
will go to jail with him’.”
Originally published ar 10:34 pm CST 3-6-2013
On Orders Of Their Rabbis, Haredim Refuse To Report For Military Service, Await Arrest
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A haredi yeshiva student who refused to report to an IDF recruitment center when he was called up says he would be "glad to go to prison," Ynet reported.
The student refused to report to the IDF after Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a senior non-hasidic haredi leader, called on yeshiva students not to respond to draft notices.
The haredi men who obeyed Auerbach’s order are considered to be defectors by the military and are supposed to be arrested by Military Police after being called up three times but still failing to report.
"The question is whether the Military Police will arrive to arrest students within the yeshivot or not. There was a report that the defense minister decided to postpone the draft, but according to what we were told by the army – they are unaware of such an order.
"Every day, concerned parents arrive at the rabbi's house to inquire what they should do when their child received a call-up notice, and the rabbi always gives the same answer: 'Nothing, and if he is arrested – we will go to jail with him’,” an associate of Auerbach told Ynet.
Auerbach said Saturday night that resisting the draft was a mitzvah, and that one had to be willing to be killed rather than transgress by serving in the military.
Auerbach also ruled out any and all compromise.
“We must not open any door [i.e., show weakness or a willingness to compromise]. And if we're strong, they'll realize that they have no chance…It is clear and simple that religion cannot exist without the holy yeshivot, without any limitations,” he said.
Moshe, a student in a well-known non-hasidic haredi yeshiva, told Ynet that nearly a month has passed since he failed to answer his third draft notice.
"My report date in the red notice was on the second day of Adar [February 12]. I had to report to the recruitment center by 6 pm. The army called my parents' home and told them that. I didn't show up, and I haven't heard from them since.…when the notice arrived I spoke to my father, who went to the rabbi's house. And the answer was not to go there and not to report. I am basically considered a defector for a month now. I haven't heard anything from them since, but I know I'm not alone. My neighbor is a Vizhnitz hasid and is in the same situation, because their rebbe told them not to [answer his draft notices] either."
Ynet asked Moshe if he was afraid of being arrested. Moshe said he wasn’t, in part because he believes statements made by Auerbach that he, Auerbach, will go with the students if they are arrested.
"On the contrary, they're welcome to come and arrest me. There are other guys in my situation who are waiting for that. Rabbi Auerbach will go with me too. In the meantime we are not many, just a few dozens. Whoever got the notice in the winter before the rabbi's order has already reported, but when the next notices are issued the numbers will grow."