After the High Court of Justice's ruling that the state is obligated to conscript yeshiva students into the army: Yinon Magal and Ben Caspit discussed the dramatic ruling and its implications today (Wednesday) on their program on Radio 103.
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Yinon Magal: "We have a serious problem, and in my opinion a dangerous one, that the State of Israel does not budget for the Torah world. It's like a person sitting on a branch of a tree and sawing off this branch. We are sawing off the branch on which we are sitting. It is important for a great many people to be Torah learners, and they would be happy to be in this thing. Want to talk about conscription? The IDF is not prepared to conscript Haredim. They constantly send me Haredim soldiers or those who were, the IDF has reneged on the agreements they had with them. Haredim are afraid that what is happening in religious Zionism will happen to them. Tens of percent of them are coming out in question.".
He added: "The Haredim are afraid of losing their character. Their worldview says that first and foremost their entire lives are dedicated to Torah. The High Court judges decided? So what if they decided? Do they think yeshiva students will enlist because they decided? Yesterday, the Palestinian Authority also accepted a petition to the High Court against the Israeli government and they did not throw them down the stairs. Yeshiva students will not enlist. We will budget for yeshiva students. With Issachar and Zebulun, we will make a lot of money. When the army is prepared and ready to enlist Haredim who will also be discharged when they are Haredim, talk to me, I am in favor.".
Ben Caspit responded with disdain towards the Abrechim: "This is not to defend the Torah, you are liars, sons of liars, this is to avoid being questioned. The Torah, as I said, has survived much worse things than budget cuts for the idle Abrechim. Nonsense, saboteurs of the Zionist enterprise. They are afraid that after military service they will leave. That is also nonsense. Yossi Yehoshua says this every time he is asked - the army is ready to arrange a relatively sterile environment for them. First of all, we will close the yeshiva for six months, see if we survived, then we will close the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the army and see if we survived.".
He continued: "Military service also harms the quality of life of leftists and pacifists, and in the end they enlist. If the state wants it, it will go by force. Pass a law once, including Arabs, that whoever does not serve the three years will not be issued a passport, will not vote, will not receive a license, and will not receive money. Give and you will receive, and if you do not give, you will not receive. You need to get even. Don't you want to? Fly away from here to Brooklyn, there are no less good Haredim there.".
Magal replied: "On the military, physical level, we need the army, no doubt. But there is a spiritual level. Don't you understand that there is a spiritual level to existence here on Earth? What is the State of Israel without Judaism? What are you talking about? What will you protect, Gentiles? What are you, Ukraine? You have become so disconnected from the mother planet.".
