Baltimore Backs Them Up
No Army! No Compromise!
Baltimore has traditionally been a Jewish community with a high degree of “Am Yisrael consciousness.” Its flagship yeshiva, Ner Israel, represented the moderate American yeshiva community. Yet an interesting letter just came out of Baltimore. R. Aharon Feldman, rosh yeshivah of Ner Israel, wrote it, and it was co-signed by the more zealous of the charedi rabbinic leadership of the US. But first, some background:
The IDF has a desperate need for at least 15,000 soldiers, most of whom need to be combat soldiers. There are currently around 80,000 charedi men aged 18-26 who are not enlisting, of whom around 20-30,000 are not even learning. Due to the expiration of the law permitting army avoidance for charedim, the enormous amount of taxpayer funding that they were used to receiving has been reduced.
The charedi communities in Israel are fundamentally all on the same page with regard to easing Israel’s IDF manpower crisis - they are not remotely interested in helping. However, they face the problem that much of their funding has been reduced. Accordingly, there is a drive for them to try to find some way of working things out, so that Bibi can pass his Evasion Law and restore the funding.
The Likud’s Boaz Bismuth has proposed a “Chok Giyus,” a “Draft Law”, a farce of an arrangement which only brings in 3240 charedim in the coming year, expands the definition of “charedi” to include dropouts, and who would not even necessarily be combat soldiers. And, of course, releases billions of shekels in funding for charedim.
Why would Likud do this? The answer is that Likud’s law is not intended as a law to bring the charedim into the IDF and solve its manpower problems; it’s a law to exempt the charedim from the IDF so that they can be brought into the government and solve its political problems. This is why it is referred to by most as a Chok Hishtamtut, a “Draft Evasion Law.”
But here’s where there is something of a split. There’s a more pragmatic charedi group which is ready to go along with the farce of a law that Likud is proposing. After all, it won’t actually enlist anyone from yeshiva, and it will bring in very few if anyone from outside the yeshivos, while unlocking billions of shekels for them. It’s the best possible law for them, thanks to there being a government which has no values and will do absolutely anything to get charedi political support.
But there’s a more ideological charedi group which is opposed to even the pretense of an arrangement to draft charedim, whether or not they are learning. One prominent representative of this group is R. Yitzchak Yosef, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi. He has insisted that no charedi person should enlist, whether or not they are in yeshiva; he also declared they will leave the country instead. In addition, he lashed out against the Dati-Leumi roshei yeshivah who are calling for charedim to help, such as Rav Tamir Granot, who lost a son in Gaza, calling him a heretic who may not be counted for a minyan.
And here’s where R. Aharon Feldman comes in. Along with the usual extremists like R. Malkiel Kotler and R. Elya Ber Wachtfogel, they wrote a letter to R. Yitzchak Yosef wholeheartedly endorsing his extreme approach, and describing it as “the only true approach”:
The letter provides an explanation of why they are supporting the wholesale refusal to draft anyone: because “at least half” of religious Jews who enter the IDF abandon mitzva observance. This is, of course, utter nonsense, especially since charedim entering the IDF would do so as part of a charedi yeshiva framework, in which dropout rates would be minimal (and perhaps even less than dropout rates in charedi society in general).
As for the letter as a whole, it is of course very easy for American “Gedolim” to support a hardline approach. For not only do they not feel the slightest responsibility to the millions of Jews in Israel that bear the burden of providing national security, they also do not feel responsibility to the charedim in Israel who seek to avoid that obligation but also need legal protection and lots of money.
Let’s hope that the Draft Evasion Law does not pass. Meanwhile, if you’re in the New York area, you can hear me speak about this and other topics:
Most of the people I know in Baltimore do not share his beliefs. Many of them have little connection to Ner Yisrael at all. It's a very diverse Jewish community. He absolutely does not speak for the entire frum community there.
I always try to express my disagreements respectfully and to acknowledge when your posts are solid. The one time I spoke harshly, many agreed with me and you referenced this in your next post and accepted the point (though you found a reason to let your first post stand without a withdrawal).
Here's my second harsh statement, in post because I live in Baltimore. What possible excuse can you come up with to deliberately attack a whole city because of one person? You acknowledge that Baltimore is generally a fine place, yet you title your post purely to spread your condemnation against one person as widely as you can to besmirch the entire city in the process. You offer literally zero justification for this and there is none.
The city of Baltimore does not follow Rav Ahron Feldman, period. An example? Rabbi Feldman opposed the rally in DC yet the schools and shuls sent droves of buses. I can tell you that even within the Yeshiva, many do not agree with his extreme charedi views and I have almost enough inside information but not quite to say the Yeshiva did not anticipate that he would be like this when he was hired and it's impossible to fire a Rosh Yeshiva.
What version of the Torah allows perfectly gratuitous lashon hara against a whole good city because of one person who lives there?
If your anger has led to this, as justifiable as it may be, you need a therapist and a break from posting. This is pure rishus.