The Gerrer Rebbe Permits Women of the Sect to Work in the IDF

The Gerrer Rebbe, the most extreme ultra-Orthodox figure on the issue of conscription, has granted permission to 57 women of the sect in Arad to work for the Ministry of Defense in a project of the Intelligence Corps. The permission was given contrary to his traditional stance opposing service in the IDF, and comes against the backdrop of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's call to expand enforcement of conscription against ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers. An associate of the Rebbe, Yitzhak Shapira, said in an internal conversation: "That's the beauty, unlike national service. In national service you can't resign. It's like slavery." The 57 women will not be employed in the status of "civilian IDF employees," but within the framework of a joint project of the Gur sect and the defense establishment. The Attorney General noted that the rate of draft dodgers among the ultra-Orthodox public is about 80% of all draft dodgers, and called for expanding personal economic enforcement measures and returning to arrests. Military representatives said that the number of arrests of deserters is expected to increase, among other things due to operations to locate draft dodgers at border crossings during the Tishrei holidays, with more than 100 deserters arrested last year using this method.