Any army order to dismantle Jewish communities is an anti-religious act, Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba told Arutz-7 Radio Wednesday. He added that army policy dictates that a solider does not have to carry out an order against his religion.
Critics are "twisting words" when they accuse rabbis of giving instructions "to refuse orders," he said. Rabbi Lior and other rabbis have told their students that evacuating Jews from their homes is a violation of the Torah.
"Part of our education to our students is that in the army they must do as they are told," he explained. "We tell our students not to be too smart for their own good towards their commanders, even if they are told to do something that doesn't make sense to them," said Rabbi Lior, who also heads a Hesder yeshiva (combining advanced Talmud studies with military service) in Kiryat Arba.
In answer to soldiers' questions concerning orders to participate in removing Jews from their homes, Rabbi Lior responded that such an order is a religious violation; therefore, he said, the soldiers are exempt from carrying it out.
Meanwhile, representatives of all the Hesder yeshivas Wednesday evening cancelled a meeting with IDF officers concerning possible orders of evacuation, saying "conditions were not right" for a discussion. IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon and Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz criticized the rabbis for their decision.
The heads of the nation's pre-military preparatory academies, both religious and secular, have called on IDF soldiers to obey military orders regardless of their political ramifications. Rabbi Moshe Hagar, who heads an organization of 24 such academies, added that the police and not the army should carry out any evacuation orders. In any event, he said, he has told his students not to refuse orders unless they are willing "to pay the price", even if it means going to jail.
Critics are "twisting words" when they accuse rabbis of giving instructions "to refuse orders," he said. Rabbi Lior and other rabbis have told their students that evacuating Jews from their homes is a violation of the Torah.
"Part of our education to our students is that in the army they must do as they are told," he explained. "We tell our students not to be too smart for their own good towards their commanders, even if they are told to do something that doesn't make sense to them," said Rabbi Lior, who also heads a Hesder yeshiva (combining advanced Talmud studies with military service) in Kiryat Arba.
In answer to soldiers' questions concerning orders to participate in removing Jews from their homes, Rabbi Lior responded that such an order is a religious violation; therefore, he said, the soldiers are exempt from carrying it out.
Meanwhile, representatives of all the Hesder yeshivas Wednesday evening cancelled a meeting with IDF officers concerning possible orders of evacuation, saying "conditions were not right" for a discussion. IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon and Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz criticized the rabbis for their decision.
The heads of the nation's pre-military preparatory academies, both religious and secular, have called on IDF soldiers to obey military orders regardless of their political ramifications. Rabbi Moshe Hagar, who heads an organization of 24 such academies, added that the police and not the army should carry out any evacuation orders. In any event, he said, he has told his students not to refuse orders unless they are willing "to pay the price", even if it means going to jail.