Rabbi Ronsky, 54, became an observant Jew after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, in which he served as an IDF Company commanding officer. He was a founding member of the community of Itamar in Samaria, where he still lives. He continued to serve in the reserves each year, and still serves as head of the Shomron Regional Division.
Rabbi Ronsky was adamantly against refusal of orders during the Disengagement and expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron last summer.
Peace Now says that the appointment "of an extremist settler like Rabbi Ronsky who lives in an illegal outpost [sic] is a slap in the face at the rule of law. A person with opinions like his does not belong in the top echelons of the IDF."
He taught in Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim in the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and Yeshivat Machon Meir. He later founded a yeshiva in Itamar, which he continues to head. He is the author of a work of Halakhic [Jewish legal] responsa on army issues, entitled, "As Arrows in a Warrior's Hand."
Speaking with Arutz-7 recently, Rabbi Ronsky said that up until Operation Defensive Shield in March 2002, "the IDF was a frightened army." He noted that the army was generally afraid of entering PA-controlled areas, "for instance, during the incident at Mt. Eval when 40 hikers needed to be rescued from a band of Arabs who were firing at them, and it took the army - with all its tanks, helicopters, and power - five hours to rescue them. [One hiker, Rabbi Binyamin Herling, was killed in that incident. -ed.] The army was helpless until then, but from Operation Defensive Shield and onward, it regained the initiative, and entered the refugee camps to thwart attacks."
Rabbi Ronsky will be promoted to the rank of Brig.-Gen. and will replace Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Yisrael Weiss this summer. Rabbi Weiss was the army's first Chief Rabbi who was not promoted to the rank of Maj.-Gen.
Rabbi Ronsky was adamantly against refusal of orders during the Disengagement and expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron last summer.
Peace Now says that the appointment "of an extremist settler like Rabbi Ronsky who lives in an illegal outpost [sic] is a slap in the face at the rule of law. A person with opinions like his does not belong in the top echelons of the IDF."
He taught in Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim in the Moslem Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and Yeshivat Machon Meir. He later founded a yeshiva in Itamar, which he continues to head. He is the author of a work of Halakhic [Jewish legal] responsa on army issues, entitled, "As Arrows in a Warrior's Hand."
Speaking with Arutz-7 recently, Rabbi Ronsky said that up until Operation Defensive Shield in March 2002, "the IDF was a frightened army." He noted that the army was generally afraid of entering PA-controlled areas, "for instance, during the incident at Mt. Eval when 40 hikers needed to be rescued from a band of Arabs who were firing at them, and it took the army - with all its tanks, helicopters, and power - five hours to rescue them. [One hiker, Rabbi Binyamin Herling, was killed in that incident. -ed.] The army was helpless until then, but from Operation Defensive Shield and onward, it regained the initiative, and entered the refugee camps to thwart attacks."
Rabbi Ronsky will be promoted to the rank of Brig.-Gen. and will replace Chief Rabbi Brig.-Gen. Yisrael Weiss this summer. Rabbi Weiss was the army's first Chief Rabbi who was not promoted to the rank of Maj.-Gen.