The Charedim Go to Trump

And invoke a uniquely American argument to be exempt from army service

Credit: Molly Riley/Official White House Photo

This past Thursday, several leading Chassidic Rebbes, along with R. Malkiel Kotler of BMG Lakewood, met with President Trump. The chassidic rebbes included the Satmar Rebbes of both Kiryas Yoel, Aaron Teitelbaum, and that of Williamsburg, his brother Zalman Teitelbaum. They have been estranged and have fought bitterly for decades, but they put their differences aside for this occasion. Achdus!

The meeting opened with the Kiryas Yoel Rebbe reciting the Hanosein Teshuah prayer for Trump. This of course the traditional weekly Jewish prayer for the ruling powers of whatever country the Jews happen to be in. However, note that charedi rabbis, including these chassidic rabbis, generally do not recite it anymore on Shabbos, neither for the USA nor for Israel.

What was so important about this meeting with Trump that it brought these Chassidic rebbes for their first face-to-face meeting in two decades, along with the Rosh Yeshiva of Lakewood? Well, they discussed several things, including increasing welfare assistance for the undereducated and impoverished US charedi communities that they seek to keep undereducated and impoverished, and improving conditions for charedim in US prisons (consistent with the prevalent charedi approach of treating criminals as martyrs and heroes).

But the main topic of discussion was apparently something else, which does not quite tie in to the achdus theme (unless you define Klal Yisrael as referring strictly to charedim, which of course they effectively do). Here is a letter that was delivered to Trump:

“September 3, 2026

“The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

“Dear Mr. President,

“On behalf of tens of thousands of Jews currently living in Israel, we are writing to you to request your assistance regarding a matter of the utmost importance to us.

“Long before you first ran for public office, you demonstrated great kindness toward the Jews whom you encountered. After you assumed the presidency, you extended that kindness to the Jewish people throughout the world. We will be forever grateful.

“In light of this longstanding relationship, we implore your intervention on behalf of the 100,000 students studying in Haredi yeshivas and seminaries in Israel. There is no need for us to explain to you the unique way of life of Haredi Judaism, generally known here in the United States as the ultra-Orthodox community.

“For nearly two hundred years, students attending recognized religious schools and training themselves to become ordained clergy have been exempt from conscription into the United States military. For more than seventy-five years, a similar exemption existed in Israel. Recently, it was abolished, a step that has had a devastating impact on the Haredi community.

“For many reasons, it is not practical for the IDF to accommodate the religious and cultural needs of the Haredi community. It would be almost impossible for Haredim to serve in a secular Israeli army without sacrificing their unique identity and relinquishing essential religious freedoms. Here in the United States, we enjoy the protections afforded by the First Amendment to the Constitution, protections that do not exist in Israel.

“It seems inconceivable that in the Land of Israel Jews are being deprived of their religious freedoms. Yet, tragically, this is the situation. Tens of thousands of God-fearing students, whose only desire is to continue living according to the tradition of their forefathers—a tradition reaching all the way back to the patriarchs of the nation—are living in genuine fear.

“As we write these words, dozens of students are imprisoned in military prisons because of their refusal to enlist. Every Haredi Jew of draft age walks the streets in fear and goes to sleep at night knowing that he may be arrested at any time, solely because of his religious faith.

“They are unable to leave the country for any reason, including in order to seek refuge elsewhere. As we understand it, thousands of American citizens who hold dual citizenship are unable to return to their homes.

“Mr. President: Since the days of the Founding Fathers, the world has not seen a leader so determined to defend religious freedom. You will be recorded in history alongside Thomas Jefferson and George Washington because of your courageous efforts to assist Jews throughout the world in practicing their faith in peace.

“We respectfully ask you to instruct your administration to raise this matter at the highest levels of the Israeli government, and to urge its leaders to follow your example by protecting the religious freedoms of ultra-Orthodox Jews instead of persecuting them.”

So finishes the letter.

Now, the most obvious horror with this letter is charedi Jews trying to recruit the US administration’s help to harm Israel. We saw this previously with Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter of Toronto (Dirshu), and now we’re seeing it with American charedi rabbis. Historically, it’s reminiscent of when Jews asked Rome to intervene in Jerusalem.

But it’s not just the effort that is a terrible thing. The lies in this letter are numerous. There was no seventy-five year exemption from the IDF for students in religious schools. Rather, there was an initial exemption for 400 students, to rebuild the losses of the Holocaust, which was gradually increased until Begin removed the cap, and successive charedi religious and political leaders then extended it to include even charedim who are not in yeshiva.

Likewise, it is a sheker on numerous levels to state that the only desire of charedim is to continue living according to a tradition, reaching all the way back to the patriarchs. First of all, there was no ancient tradition not to help with a defensive war! Second, there was not even a recent tradition to refuse to be economically self-sufficient. Charedim do not only desire an army exemption, they also demand a multitude of tax exemptions, welfare benefits, and additional funding.

But I also want to point out an additional distortion in this letter - the appeal to there being a similar exemption from the military in US history. This is something often voiced by charedim arguing for a draft exemption. But it is an utterly fraudulent comparison, for two reasons.

First is that the primary (and single most frequently cited legal) reason for the US exemption is that removing ministers from communities would damage civilian morale during a time of crisis. In a 1944 ruling against Isaac Trainin, an Orthodox Jew who was denied an exemption as being a rabbi, a U.S. Federal Appeals Court explained that ministers are exempt “not so much for their personal religious training and beliefs, but for the disruption of public worship and religious solace to the people at large which would be caused by their induction,” which accordingly did not apply to Trainin since he was only a part-time rabbi. Congress believed that keeping the home front spiritually stable was vital to national well-being. If the government drafted practicing clergy and stopped the training of future religious leaders (divinity students), entire communities would be left without spiritual guidance, funeral officiants, or counseling when they needed it most.

The exact opposite is the case with the vast majority of the 100,000 charedim seeking exemptions today. They are neither clergy nor divinity students training to be clergy - indeed, the goals of charedi yeshivos today are not at all for their students to enter the rabbinate, and are often specifically for them not to enter it. And unlike the situation with Christian clergy in the 1940s, it is their refusal to enlist which harms national morale and disrupts religious solace! (Dati-leumi rabbis and yeshiva students who enlist, in contrast, help national morale and inspire people with religious solace.)

The second critical difference between the US military exemption and the Israeli charedi desire for exemption is that the United States is a gigantic powerful country that has never suffered an existential threat. It is surrounded by oceans, Mexicans and Canadians. It has always had far more manpower available than it requires, and has accordingly historically been extremely generous with its exemptions. And, of course, it’s also important to keep the economy strong and society healthy during a war, as much as possible. Thus, the US historically gave broad exemptions to people merely on the basis of such things as their being in higher education and/or being married breadwinners.

Again, the exact opposite is the case with Israel. It is a tiny country facing constant immense threats. It needs to have a strict mandatory universal draft policy in order to survive. It cannot repeatedly deploy all its older reservists in a long conflict without suffering enormous domestic damage in all kinds of ways - which is what has been happening. Careers have crashed, emotional health problems have exploded, family lives have collapsed, marriages have broken, suicides have soared. The very broad exemptions that are possible and helpful for the US are devastating for Israel. And charedi isolation neither helps with the economy or society healthy - in fact it dramatically harms both.

The charedi claim of being as entitled to exemptions as US clergy is a double fraud that needs to be exposed. Please share this post with others.