A fresh clash emerged today in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee as lawmakers revisited the proposed Security Service Law and confronted a charged question: Who qualifies as a “graduate of a chareidi educational institution” for the purposes of the draft?
The discussion, held today as part of ongoing deliberations on the draft law, centered on Section 26Yud-Beis, which determines how the state identifies chareidi conscripts, a classification that directly affects annual recruitment targets for chareidim.
Under the version currently on the table, anyone who attended chareidi educational institutions for at least two of the four years between ages 14 and 18 would be recognized as a chareidi graduate. This group forms the basis for the minimum yearly recruitment benchmark.
During the meeting, the committee’s legal advisers suggested narrowing the definition by counting only the years closest to the actual draft date. Their rationale: tightening the timeframe might better reflect the characteristics of the individual as they enter the IDF.
But Brig. Gen. Shay Taib, head of the IDF’s manpower support division (TOMCH”A), urged caution and objected to revisiting the definition at this stage. If the practical difference between the definitions is minimal, he argued, stability should take precedence. “There is value in continuity,” he said, noting that the Ministry of Education holds the necessary data to analyze any discrepancies.
Taib also raised a related, long-standing problem: the mechanism used to tally chareidi recruits. The current system relies on after-the-fact cross-checking — often sparking disputes and lengthy delays. “I propose that we do not count retroactively, but rather assign each conscript to a birth year grouping,” he said. “From the moment someone crosses age 18, it must be clear whether he is defined as chareidi under the law. Otherwise, we spend months arguing after the enlistment already happened.”
A representative of the Ministry of Education, Miriam Grazi Rosenbaum, rejected accusations that the ministry misclassifies institutions or mistakenly includes graduates of religious-Zionist yeshiva high schools as chareidi. She explained that every school is reviewed individually according to the relevant regulations, and when misunderstandings arose, the ministry clarified the data and provided the IDF with accurate, targeted information.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense signaled support for keeping the existing definition intact. Kobi Blitstein, the ministry’s deputy director general, said the current formulation maintains balance among different population groups — including youth who leave religious observance after years in chareidi schools, as well as baalei teshuvah who may enlist at a later age. He emphasized the importance of consistent data, comparability across years, and alignment with definitions used by the Civil Service Commission.
The committee is expected to continue debating the matter as the draft law advances, with the core issue still unresolved: how to determine, in a uniform and defensible way, who counts as chareidi for the purpose of national service requirements.
{Matzav.com}[Video below.] Maran Hagaon Rav Dov Landau, rosh yeshiva of Slabdoka, delivered pointed words of chizuk on Monday night during a Chanukah gathering attended by hundreds of talmidim at Yeshivas Ohr Yisroel in Petach Tikva, addressing the ongoing storm surrounding Israel’s draft law and what he described as growing pressure on the עולם התורה.
Referring to the continued arrests of yeshiva students classified as “draft evaders,” Rav Landau lamented efforts he said are aimed at pulling bochurim away from Torah learning. “There are people here among us who want to cancel learning,” he said. “They are pursuing us, and we hope, with Hashem’s help, that everything will pass like a fleeting dream, like a cloud that dissolves — that it will all vanish, and very soon we will only learn and be involved in learning.”
In his remarks, Rav Landau emphasized that Chanukah highlights the centrality of uninterrupted Torah study. While the Yom Tov includes mitzvos such as lighting the menorah, reciting Hallel, and krias haTorah, he stressed that there is one obligation that never ceases. “There is a mitzvah that is always, always, always — to learn. There is no time exempt from learning,” he said. “On Chanukah even more so, because they decreed ‘to make them forget Your Torah.’ One must always be immersed in learning — not just learning, but fully immersed, placed into the learning, listening to what you are taught, with persistence and total involvement. That is how time is meant to be spent — except for one day a year, Tisha B’Av, which will be annulled speedily in our days.”
Addressing the draft issue directly, Rav Landau dismissed other pursuits as insignificant distractions. “To learn and to learn,” he said. “There is no time exempt from learning, to be immersed and diligent. Everything else is emptiness of emptiness. Now they want to pass decrees against Your will. They want to take us away from learning.”
Concluding his words, Rav Landau urged the talmidim to remain steadfast. “Be immersed in learning and listen to what your rabbanim teach and guide you,” he told them. “Know that this alone is true happiness. There is nothing else in the world. Fortunate are we, how good is our portion, that we learn Torah. May it be His will that we continue learning in proper order until the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, amen.”
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
Government Secretary Adv. Yossi Fuchs sharply criticized Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Monday night, accusing her of consistently targeting the chareidi community and of systematically expanding Supreme Court rulings far beyond their original scope, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the proposed conscription law.
Although Knesset deliberations on the draft law are still underway and the legislation remains in the formulation stage, Baharav-Miara released a legal opinion over the weekend addressing the emerging bill. Her opinion was issued while the law is still being debated in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth.
In her opinion, the attorney general expressed sweeping opposition to the proposed law and stated unequivocally that if the matter reaches the High Court of Justice, she would recommend striking it down. Her remarks came against the backdrop of ongoing committee discussions and various frameworks currently under consideration.
While Baharav-Miara’s position did not surprise political figures, it emerged that during a meeting last week between Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and the United Torah Judaism faction, chareidi MKs demanded a forceful response to the attorney general’s opinion. They called on Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth to issue a sharply worded letter rebutting her arguments.
Ultimately, it was Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs who responded. On Monday evening, Fuchs sent a letter of his own to Baharav-Miara, in place of Bismuth, delivering unusually harsh criticism.
In his letter, Fuchs wrote: “You have made it a habit to act only against the chareidim. It is a shame that you did not apply such strict standards to yourself as well, in the case of the Military Advocate General.”
Fuchs went on to accuse the attorney general’s office of operating a calculated and recurring strategy: “You have developed an efficient method. After every High Court ruling, you issue a letter that significantly tightens the ruling far beyond what was actually stated in it. The ‘Movement for Quality Government’ then issues a letter of exhaustion of remedies based on your unfounded claims, files a petition to the High Court, and the Attorney General’s Office sides with the petitioner instead of representing the government.”
{Matzav.com}
In a moving Chanukah event held within one of Israel’s most challenging environments, the Rishon LeTzion and Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Dovid Yosef, visited the Israel Prison Service (IPS) headquarters on Monday, participating in a festive menorah lighting and delivered words of chizuk to inmates and staff alike.
Rav Yosef arrived at the IPS headquarters together with Prison Commissioner Rav-Gonadar Kobi Yaakobi, senior IPS officials, and representatives of the IPS Rabbinate. As part of the visit, the Chief Rabbi also traveled to prisons themselves, where he delivered shiurim and messages of chizuk to inmates in the Torah wings at Maasiyahu and Ayalon prisons.
Addressing the significance of these units, Rav Yosef emphasized their transformative role. “I am happy to return and visit the Prison Service, and I make a point of coming into the prisons themselves to meet the inmates and strengthen them with words of Torah,” he said. “The Torah wing of the IPS is of immeasurable importance. It gives a person hope, a path, and an opportunity for tikkun, and enables connection to values and faith even in the most complex places. I greatly appreciate the sacred work of the IPS Rabbinate and of all those who serve in the Prison Service.”
Prison Commissioner Yaakobi highlighted the impact of the Chief Rabbi’s presence on IPS personnel, particularly during Chanukah. “The presence of the Rishon LeTzion and Chief Rabbi of Israel during the Festival of Lights provides meaningful strength to the women and men of the Prison Service,” he said. “This is the festival of light, and this light illuminates the work of IPS personnel who stand on the front lines day after day — facing terrorists, criminal organizations, and evil — with courage, dedication, and professionalism. The men and women of the Prison Service are carrying out a national mission of the highest importance for the security of Israel’s citizens.”
{Matzav.com}
A potentially devastating fire was narrowly avoided on Monday night after young children reportedly played with a lit Chanukah menorah, causing a blaze on a residential balcony.
Fire and rescue crews from the Afula district were dispatched to an apartment on Chativat Kfir Street after a woman reported seeing flames coming from the balcony of the apartment opposite hers.
B’chasdei Shomayim, the residents were able to gain control of the fire on their own before firefighters arrived, preventing what officials said could have ended in tragedy.
Fire officer Lahav Kfari Azulai, who took part in the response, described the scene upon arrival. “In the stairwell, we encountered a mother and her two children. The mother was extremely shaken and explained that while she stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes, her children apparently played with the lit candles and caused the fire,” he said.
Azulai stressed that only good fortune prevented serious harm. “A major disaster was narrowly avoided here,” he said, issuing a clear warning to the public. “Do not leave a Chanukah menorah lit without adult supervision. Place menorahs in a safe, stable location and far away from flammable materials.”
{Matzav.com}
