'We do whatever they say': Yeshiva students defer to rabbis over response to IDF draft enforcement

Yeshiva students at a United Torah Judaism election rally in Bnei Brak told The Jerusalem Post they would follow their rabbis' instructions on whether to leave Israel, stay, or enlist in the IDF if draft enforcement is stepped up. Rabbi Dov Landau urged defending Torah study. An October survey found 72% of Jewish respondents supported haredi enlistment legislation.

Yeshiva students attending a United Torah Judaism election rally in Bnei Brak on Sunday told The Jerusalem Post that their response to potential IDF draft enforcement would depend entirely on their rabbis' instructions. The rally, held two days before Israel's election, drew tens of thousands of haredi Jews under the slogan "Gather and Stand Up for Our Lives." Rabbi Dov Landau, a leading haredi rabbinic authority, said at the rally that "never have yeshiva students and kollel scholars been persecuted as they are being persecuted now." Students interviewed by the Post expressed unwavering deference to rabbinic authority. One student, Reuven, said he would leave the country if his rabbi instructed him to. Another, Dovid, said he and others would "go through fire and water" for their rabbis. Shmuel emphasized that Torah study was his highest priority and that he would leave Israel if staying meant he could not continue his studies. Avi expressed a desire to stay in Israel but said he would comply if his rabbi instructed him to leave. When asked whether some yeshiva students wanted to enlist but refrained because their rabbis forbade it, several agreed. One anonymous student expressed frustration over being targeted for draft evasion rather than the rabbis whose directives they follow. An October Israel Democracy Institute survey found that 72% of Jewish respondents supported legislation requiring young haredi men to enlist.