Against the backdrop of escalating tensions surrounding the enforcement of military service requirements for yeshiva bochurim, Israel’s Kikar FM hosts Eli Guthelf and Yehuda Glickman held an extensive discussion examining the legal, constitutional, and societal ramifications of the current situation.
As northern Israel continues to face rocket attacks and security threats from Hezbollah, a different battle has been unfolding within the chareidi community. Arrests of yeshiva bochurim, mass demonstrations, court intervention, and increasing involvement by law enforcement have fueled concerns throughout the Torah world.
Seeking to understand the forces driving the crisis, Guthelf and Glickman sat down for what they described as a candid, analytical conversation focused not on politics, but on the mechanisms and decisions shaping events behind the scenes.
How the Police Became Involved
Guthelf opened by questioning why Israel Police has become so deeply involved in enforcing draft-related arrests.
“The police are not the army,” he noted. “The military answers to the government and carries out directives from the political leadership. The police are charged with enforcing the law. How did they become such a central player in the pursuit of yeshiva bochurim?”
Glickman responded that many people fail to appreciate the legal realities confronting police officials.
“The fundamental role of the police is law enforcement and maintaining public order,” he said. “Historically, this wasn’t their arena. Military police handled these matters, while regular police served primarily as a support force when public disturbances occurred.”
According to Glickman, the situation changed dramatically after the expiration of the draft law and subsequent legal developments.
“Once the law expired and the Attorney General presented her position to the Supreme Court, the police found themselves in a legally binding situation. Senior police officials are caught between conflicting pressures. They have little desire to be drawn into a direct confrontation with the chareidi public, but when a person is flagged in the system as a draft evader, the law requires them to detain him and transfer him to military authorities. At the moment, their primary strategy appears to be slowing the process because they simply do not have the manpower to carry it out on a large scale.”
“They Are Arrested, But They Don’t Become Soldiers”
Guthelf questioned whether the policy is accomplishing its stated objective.
“The military itself does not appear eager to launch a large-scale campaign against yeshiva bochurim,” he observed. “If someone is arrested, sits in prison for a week or two, and then is released, he has not become a soldier. What exactly has been achieved?”
Glickman agreed.
“In the overwhelming majority of cases, the individual is released after a short period and returns either to the street or to the yeshiva,” he said. “The objective is not necessarily enlistment. The goal is to create public pressure or encourage others to volunteer.”
He pointed to the example of Belz, where a structured framework exists for those who choose to serve.
“There are exceptional cases. We recently saw a Belzer chossid who was arrested and then continued with the enlistment process under the guidance of the Rebbe. Belz has developed an organized system and hundreds have enlisted through it. That serves both the military and the community because it demonstrates that solutions can be achieved without coercion. But that does not reflect the broader reality.”
According to Glickman, many members of the so-called “hard core” are fully prepared to endure imprisonment rather than enlist.
“For them, a prison sentence is something they are willing to accept. The policy therefore fails to achieve its intended goal.”
Claims of Targeted Enforcement
The conversation then turned to allegations that enforcement efforts disproportionately affect bochurim from Sephardic backgrounds and from communities outside the major chareidi centers.
Guthelf noted that many respected rabbonim and community figures have raised concerns about selective enforcement.
Glickman rejected claims of blanket discrimination but suggested that military planners have adopted a highly calculated approach.
“The military has analyzed the data carefully,” he said. “They appear to be focusing on individuals whose families have military backgrounds—fathers, brothers, brothers-in-law, or uncles who served. Their assumption is that pressure will be more effective in those cases.”
He added that the rapidly growing Sephardic yeshiva world includes many first-generation bnei Torah whose parents served in the military.
“That may make them more likely targets, not because of ethnicity but because of family background.”
Glickman also claimed that chareidi reservists serving in advisory roles may have helped military planners understand community dynamics.
“They were not trying to harm the Torah world,” he said. “But they provided insights that may have influenced how these policies were developed.”
Guthelf expressed concern over that possibility.
“If someone from within the chareidi community is helping direct pressure toward a Sephardic ben Torah simply because his father served in the army—even though there is no difference between him and a bochur learning diligently in Bnei Brak—that raises serious questions.”
Others, Glickman noted, argue that there is no sophisticated targeting at all and that enforcement is simply easier in outlying communities where authorities face less organized resistance than in densely populated chareidi centers.
“If This Happened in Kaplan, It Would Lead Every News Broadcast”
One of the most emotional portions of the discussion focused on the conduct of police during protests.
Guthelf admitted that he initially sympathized with law enforcement.
“I wasn’t among those immediately crying foul,” he said. “I believed much of the responsibility rested with the political leadership for failing to solve the problem.”
However, he said his perspective shifted after meeting an avreich who was injured during a demonstration.
“I met Aharaleh, a sweet avreich and father of fourteen children. He attended a protest and came home with a broken arm in a cast after being struck by a police officer. This is a person who never hurt anyone in his life.”
Guthelf argued that similar incidents involving anti-government demonstrators in Tel Aviv would generate national outrage.
“If a Kaplan protester left a demonstration with a broken arm, it would dominate the headlines and spark endless discussion about civil rights and police conduct. But Aharaleh will quietly wear his cast, and no one will tell his story.”
While emphasizing that he understands the pain felt by many Israelis whose relatives are serving in the military, Guthelf said the response toward chareidi demonstrators often appears excessive.
“There is a level of force being used here that raises serious concerns.”
Glickman suggested that officers have been drawn into an impossible situation.
“The police have been pulled into this crisis because of legal pressure. Unfortunately, some officers view the chareidi public as a red line. There is demonization on both sides. But people need to understand that these are not individuals looking to exploit the system. For them, this issue is deeply tied to their identity and beliefs.”
Civil Disobedience Being Discussed
Toward the end of the conversation, the hosts discussed possible responses being debated within parts of the chareidi community.
One idea involved individuals declining to provide full identification when temporarily detained by police, thereby making it more difficult for authorities to determine whether they are listed as draft evaders.
Another proposal was far more dramatic.
Guthelf suggested that if tens of thousands of individuals classified as draft evaders were to appear at a police station simultaneously and request to be arrested, the system would be unable to cope.
“What would happen if thirty thousand people showed up in one day and said, ‘We’re all here—arrest us’?” he asked.
Glickman responded that versions of that idea are being discussed seriously in some circles.
“The concept of mass civil disobedience and collective surrender is absolutely being talked about,” he said. “People are discussing it seriously in various groups, both in Eretz Yisroel and abroad. I don’t know whether it has reached every leadership forum, but it is certainly a topic of conversation.”
Concluding the discussion, Guthelf stressed that the current controversy extends far beyond the question of military service.
“Even those who believe that young men who are not learning should enlist need to understand that this is about much more than a dispute between chareidim and secular Israelis,” he said. “This is a moral, constitutional, and legal test case whose implications affect the entire country. Nobody likes seeing eighteen-year-olds being taken into detention cells.”
Glickman closed by expressing hope that calmer days lie ahead and offered a brief prayer for Divine assistance in resolving the crisis.
{Matzav.com}
