For the first time, a military polling station was set up on Tuesday in a haredi Hesder yeshiva. The station was opened at the Derech Chaim Yeshiva, where more than 160 students study, allowing students in the Hesder program, which combines military service with Torah study, to exercise their right to vote without leaving the yeshiva's grounds.
Until now, no haredi Hesder yeshivas had enough students to meet the minimum standard required to host a military ballot box. After Derech Chaim Yeshiva expanded, surpassing 160 students, it became possible for the first time to place such ballot boxes there.
The new arrangement allows students, some of whom are voting for the first time in their lives, to participate in the Knesset elections without disrupting their daily routines or traveling to another polling station.
The yeshiva's rabbis welcomed the election officials who arrived at the institution and thanked them for the preparations that allowed Torah studies to continue uninterrupted. According to the rabbis, setting up the polling station inside the yeshiva eliminated the need to suspend classes for voting, as sometimes occurs at other yeshivas.