Exclusive documentation: The dramatic meeting of the leader of Degel HaTorah and the despair over achieving an exemption from conscription

Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the leaders of Degel HaTorah, met with extremist elements from Satmar and the Edah HaChareidis. In exclusive documentation obtained by i24NEWS, he is heard expressing despair over the prospect of an arrangement that would bring an exemption from conscription for yeshiva students, and expressed hope that the state would give up on the demand to compel Haredim to enlist.

Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the leaders of the Degel HaTorah party, met last week with extremist elements from the Satmar Hasidic sect and the Edah HaChareidis. In exclusive documentation obtained by i24NEWS and published this morning (Monday) by Haredi affairs correspondent Ari Kalman, Rabbi Hirsch is heard expressing despair over the chance of finding a solution that would bring an arrangement for Torah scholars regarding the conscription law. He expressed hope that the state would eventually give up on the demand to compel Haredim to enlist in the IDF, and would drop the conscription of yeshiva students. The senior rabbi further estimated that a day would come when the voting rights of Haredim who do not enlist would be revoked. The very holding of the meeting is interesting, as among those present were Shimon Shisha, from the extremist organizations who assists yeshiva students with the military authorities in obtaining exemptions, and Rabbi Yitzchak Schiff, a senior figure in the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic sect. According to the article, Satmar is working to exploit the crisis to radicalize Haredim away from the mainstream.

Exclusive documentation: The dramatic meeting of the leader of Degel HaTorah and the despair over achieving an exemption from conscription