Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, leading haredi rabbi and member of Degel Hatorah's Council of Torah Sages, has urged anyone who is not studying in yeshiva to enlist in the police force.
Responding to a call by Israel Police's Rabbi Rami Berachyahu, Rabbi Zilberstein said, "Since those who turn to you are householders who fear G-d, but who are not yeshiva students, they are permitted to volunteer to save the nation of Israel, to protect the cities and neighborhoods from murderers and enemies."
Regarding whether it is permitted to patrol with weapons on Shabbat (the Sabbath), when Jewish law typically forbids this, Rabbi Zilberstein said, "In every place which seems in the eyes of the police's experts to have danger and need armed patrols, there should patrols on Shabbat as well, if possible - by a non-Jew, and if not, by a Jew."
"And all of this - it does not refer to yeshiva students, whose Torah is their occupation, and who protect the Jewish nation with their Torah [study]; this is what it refers to when it says, 'one thousand from this tribe, and one thousand from that tribe,'" he concluded.
Earlier, Rabbi Berachyahu urged the public to pray for the welfare of the soldiers and police officers. He also discussed the security chapters organized for the first time in haredi cities, saying that the residents "will be trained in the operation of weapons and will be capable of aiding the police forces in times of need."