Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Meir, founder of the Shvut Yisrael yeshiva, addressed the issue of drafting haredim who do not engage in Torah study in an interview with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News.
He said the haredi public is mistaken in the way it is managing the struggle around the issue.
He said, "There is an important debate regarding conscripting people who study Torah seriously - there are many such good people in the haredi public. But regarding those who do not study Torah, with all due respect, I think the haredi public is making a very large mistake in the way it is conducting its struggle on this issue, both in timing and in manner," Rabbi Ben Meir said.
"The error is not only moral but also a matter of Jewish law, certainly from the perspective of Jewish law, but also from straightforward common sense." He stressed, however, that there are different aspects to the legal question, and he understood the haredi desire to preserve the world of Torah. "Torah study arose to restore the people of Israel after the Holocaust, and we all believe that the Torah sustains the people of Israel. There is still, however, a certain argument in this issue in Jewish law."
Rabbi Ben Meir explained that the main haredi concern stems from fear of the effect of military service on young haredim. "They are afraid that this population will become corrupted in the army. This claim is increasingly heard; they also do not trust the army very much, and in this, they are correct because it deceived them and us, the Religious Zionist camp, on the arrangement issue countless times. They are afraid that the public will be corrupted and that would mean a very large educational failure." He added that, however, even that can be solved. "Things can be resolved if there is a real will to do so."