''Yated Ne'eman' attacks: "There must be no rapprochement with the IDF"'

August 7, 2014   

This morning (Thursday), the newspaper Yated Ne'eman attacked in an editorial, under the headline "There must be no rapprochement," the danger of the Haredi public's rapprochement and identification with the IDF, and came out against "collaborators from the fringes of the Haredi public who are working with the army, while exploiting the 'identification', to establish a new Haredi battalion.".  Thus the newspaper writes: "During the battles in the south, it was impossible to put the things down in writing! While the cannons were roaring and the soldiers were under fire, everyone 'enlisted for war' and took hold of the weapons that Jews are best at fencing with, the Torah and prayer. In synagogues they poured out a spell lest there be any casualties, God forbid, on the front and in the rear, and prayed for the healing of the wounded. In the Torah synagogues where they still study due to the call for an extension of time, they strengthened themselves and multiplied Torah that is magna and mitzvah, for the salvation of the whole and the individual who are in a place of danger. Many experienced the concern of the tearful-eyed mothers, and prayed. Crowds felt the wandering sleep of a restless father, and recited Tehillim. Everyone felt the distress of families without rest under the alarms that tore apart the peace, and received receipts for the salvation of the people of Israel. Everyone grieved for those who did not get to return, the Y"d. Naturally, the Haredi media reported in an informative manner on what was happening at the front and in the exposed rear. The events attracted attention, and also stirred emotions. It is precisely the following out of a feeling of "my people are in trouble," for some for whom this may create a blurring of opinions, due to the drift of emotions. It is precisely the sincere and genuine concern, it is precisely the action "with one heart" of what a Jew must do at such times to save the community and the individual, that requires observation with a magnifying glass. It is precisely the accompaniment and prayer from the bottom of the heart, that requires care that the fog of the coming battle does not blur the clear field of vision and the understanding that only the Torah condemns and heals. These are "legal imperatives"! There is no partnership here, there is no rapprochement here. The fact that the Haredi public mobilized to save the people of Israel was not interpreted correctly by the general media. As time passed, the fear crept in that there was a deliberate hand here that took advantage of the timing when restraint was required on our part. In those days, out of humanity and responsibility, we were forced to guard our tongues, in the face of events and statements that were intended to erode the Haredi public and break down its walls. Now, with the end of the war and the withdrawal of soldiers from areas of danger, things must be set straight. ""In the midst of the operation, the electronic media reported: 'This is how the Haredi are covering 'Protective Edge': It seems that there has been a rapprochement between the sector and the fighters on the ground.' The written media reported in a similarly stormy spirit. Some journalists went so far as to say that the Haredi rage over the conscription law had supposedly subsided, and the public had moved from attack to identification. This is a gross optical error, but it is extremely serious, even if it only appears that way. This must set off a spiritual red alarm! The blurring must not penetrate. It is obligatory to do "as much as we have been instructed," but only as much as we have been instructed: strengthening ourselves in Torah, in prayer, and in other matters that the great men of Israel demanded of us at such a time. We must feel "with them I am in trouble" with all our hearts, but without obscuring mists. There must not be those whose worldview is not organized, and they will stumble. The point of light must not cause blindness." At this stage, the newspaper attacks the publications about the establishment of a new Haredi battalion in the Givati ​​Brigade: "Collaborators from the fringes of the Haredi public who work with the army have taken advantage of the "identification." For example, one of the army's infantry brigades is trying, through entrepreneurs and recruiters called Haredi, to establish a new Haredi battalion. They are openly trying to convince young Haredi to enlist in the combat brigade and promise to maintain a "high-level Torah framework," while in their publications they declare to the naive young men that the new battalion is supposedly receiving the accompaniment and blessing of rabbis. The brigade commander has previously participated in a meeting with the young men, in order to persuade them to join the ranks of the army. The propaganda is carried out with temptations such as academic studies at the army's expense. "Red sirens must be heard throughout the Haredi public. The incessant attempts to change us intensified during the war. It was precisely under fire that the coolers of the "Asher Kerch" worked overtime. The attempts to cynically exploit the state of emergency, the attempts to change the Haredi public by digging tunnels of spiritual attack from the backyard into the house, must be rejected and be condemned to the pillar of shame. It is necessary to be careful and stay away from the operators of the false bellows in the midst of the days of cutting off the gusts of the "Asher Kerch". The distance must be maintained. "These stormy waves must crash against the breakwater. At a time like this, when attempts are being made to impose upon us, it is our duty to close every loophole and strengthen even the weaker ones who are likely to be tempted, for whom the main struggle is, as Maran Rosh Ha-Yeshiva, the Grail Steinman, Shlita, wrote, 'The decree to draft yeshiva students is a decree to transgress religion! We must stand our ground against all the dangerous initiatives that seek to uproot Torah and duty, and we must not allow even a single young man to give up his studies.'" In those days when the Torah world was waging a battle strictly based on Torah for the success of the war, the actions did not cease to undermine the very foundations of its existence. The winds of "Protective Edge" assailed the Haredi public from all sides. Despite all the burden-bearing and participation, one of the former generals, wearing a kippah, expressed that if the Haredi public had enlisted, there would have been no need to draft reserves. The evil use of the timing of war, the speculation on emotions, the terrible incitement in charged times, is also misleading. It must not arouse among those who have been poisoned, a feeling of discomfort. Because the Torah of the Haredi public, the strengthening, is what decided the campaign. If the yeshiva students had enlisted, God forbid, woe to the results of the war. Without the Torah scholars, the Minister of the Army of God would not have been able to conduct the war. "Therefore, now, with the declaration of a ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops, we must remember that the destructive bulldozer of Israeli secularism is not stopping its engines. The plot against Torah scholars has not faded. The intention to bite and inject us with the venom of a traitor that will cool our strength of endurance has not expired. It has only found those who have already been poisoned by the venom, and they are cooperating. We must raise the walls. When we unite, it is only in prayer and a cry to the Creator of the world to have mercy and have mercy, to save the whole and the individual. Contact and connection between the ultra-Orthodox and secular camps is prey, especially at a time like this. There must be no ones whose sleep is not in order, who will make a mistake!"'