Letter from the Bereaved Families
A powerful statement about the Draft Exemption Law
Below is an English translation of the letter from the bereaved families that has appeared in all major Israeli news outlets (except for the charedi ones, of course), which I received from one of the family members with a request to publicize it. Please pass it around, not merely out of respect to the signatories, but because it is crucial to maximize the public pressure to prevent the Draft Exemption Law from being passed. There is also a link to download it as a PDF file at the end of the post.
To the elected officials of the Religious-Zionist and Traditional public in the Knesset of Israel:
“Everyone goes out to a milchemet mitzvah (an obligatory war).”
So our Sages taught us, and so we raised our children: a Torah that connects us to the people of Israel, not a Torah that separates us from it. On Simchat Torah 5784, on 7/10, and throughout the past two years, our children, our brothers, and our husbands went out to defend the State, in the name of Torah, in the name of mutual responsibility, in the name of the responsibility we all share for the fate of the Jewish people. They went—and did not return. We carry this pain every day, and it does not allow us to remain silent.
We are not asking anyone to stop learning Torah. Torah is the heart of the nation, the source of life for all of us. But the Torah of Israel does not allow a person to remove himself from the community; it is the Torah that obligates us to a shared responsibility; it is the Torah that commands: “Do not stand by the blood of your neighbor.” All the more so that you must not stand aside when your neighbor is fighting to save you!
It is precisely out of a deep respect for the Torah and its learners that we find it difficult for us to hear voices that, in the name of the Torah, claim that a large part of the nation should be exempt from basic partnership in shouldering the burdens of security and of economic and social contributions to the public. A nation cannot live while a third of it enjoys all the rights but is exempt from most of the obligations. Not today, and not for future generations.
In the face of this call, we—bereaved families from the Religious-Zionist and Traditional public—demand from you to make a clear statement that this is not our path. This is not the path of Torah. That you cannot lend your hand to it.
The “Bismuth Plan” makes it clear that the Haredi public has no intention of taking part with us in the existential requirement of Israel’s security. Its stated purpose: “regulating the status of yeshiva students.” The central concern of the Haredi leadership is restoring budgets and emptying the draft requirement of all substance, without any responsibility for enlarging the ranks of the army so that it can continue to fight and win on all fronts. The Haredi leadership demands that no fighters be drafted, that there be no oversight of the yeshivot, and that anyone who wishes—whether learning or not—will find in them a city of refuge. Not one of their leaders has declared that he will encourage or even merely permit his flock—even those who are not studying—to go to the army. All of them, as one, declare: no one will be drafted. Can we lend our hand to this great deception?
The minimal and clear principles necessary to ensure the enlistment of the Haredi public—principles that include drafting fighters according to the army’s needs, oversight and enforcement solely by the army, and preventing any direct or indirect state funding until there is actual enlistment according to the army’s requirements—must serve as conditions for your support for any legislation. We implore you to prevent the “Bismuth Plan,” which constitutes a severe blow to security, an abdication of responsibility, an evasion of basic obligations, and a violation of the Torah by which our loved ones lived and fell.
You stand at a historic moment. You are our emissaries! You must not lend a hand to severe harm to the security of the state and to the resilience of our community, which is ready at any moment to go out and defend it, even at the risk of life. Do not betray our shared values; stand tall and speak in the name of the Torah of the Land of Israel! We place our trust in you—do not disappoint!
Avi Baruch, Father of Adi Odaya HY”D
Avivit Granot, Mother of Amitai HY”D
Ayelet Silberg, Mother of Netanel HY”D
Elad and Devora Saadon, Parents of Hallel HY”D
Voli Wolfstal, Father of Ariel HY”D
Asaf Halamish, Father of Zohar HY”D
Effie Shoham, Father of Yuval Z”L
Benny Fleischman and Noy Fleischman Stavistky, Family of Yinon HY”D
Benzi Shamir, Father of Moti HY”D
Galit Waldman, Mother of Ariel ben Moshe HY”D
Jennifer, Meira and Aminadav Bloom, Family of Gavriel HY”D
HaRav Benny Kalmenzon, Father of Elchanan HY”D
Hagay Lober, Father of Yehonatan HY”D
Chaya Hexter, Mother of Yakir HY”D
Chaim and Lali Deri, Parents of Saadia HY”D
Tova and Ariel Shenkolevsky, Parents of Yakir HY”D
Yair, Sara and Shira Shwartz, Parents of David HY”D
Yonatan Slotki, Brother of Yishai HY”D and Noam HY”D
Yael and Shai Elboim, Parents of Sariya HY”D
Israel and Avital Chen, Parents of Dror HY”D
Carmit Pizam, Mother of Shai Uriel HY”D
Michal and David Zafrani, Parents of Itai HY”D
Miriam and Aharon Haber, Parents of Zechariah HY”D
Marc Abitbol, Father of Eliav HY”D
Moshe Shapira, Father of Aner HY”D
Nevo Har Even, Brother of Shilo HY”D
Adi Gealdor, Widow of Omer HY”D
Uzi Rozensweig, Father of Eitan HY”D
Pesi Gordon, Widow of Naftali HY”D
Tzvi Zussman, Father of Ben HY”D
Tzvika Greenglick, Father of Shauli HY”D
Tzofia Dickstein, Mother of Ivri HY”D
Rachel Goldberg, Widow of Rav Avi Goldberg HY”D
Riki Berkowitz, Mother of Eyal Meir HY”D
Sagit Biton, Mother of Yakir HY”D
Shmulik and Michal Negri, Parents of Roee HY”D
Yaakov Hershkovitz, Father of Yossi HY”D
Martine Ben Harush, Mother of Shoam Moshe HY”D
Yael Arbel Mother of Gideon Chai Derowe HY”D
Stop calling this the "Bismuth Plan" since he is just the instrument. If this were in America, the media would already be calling it the "Save Bibi's coalition" plan or something similar
I would urge the organizers and signers to add the following and to republish the letter with suitable updates (specific Knesset member names) as the bill makes its way through readings and votes:
“We will record and repeatedly publish the names of EVERY Knesset member who votes for this plan. We promise to refuse our votes for ALL lists in which ANY of these names appears as a candidate. We will urge our families, friends, and associates to utterly reject ALL such lists. We will urge them to urge all their families, friends, and associates to utterly reject ALL such lists.
Let every Knesset member understand— if you vote for this law you will effectively condemn any list in which your name appears, and your political career will end in disgrace.
We will not forgive! We will not forget!”