The students, who study in hesder yeshiva seminaries combining Torah study with army service, are training in central Israel. Today, their plans were abruptly changed, and they were instructed to arrive in Gush Katif for the purpose of blocking off roads to non-Katif residents. The soldiers refused to board the bus, saying they were unable to take part in such activities.
Their battalion commander then informed them that Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz had ordered that any hesder platoon that refuses orders would be immediately dismantled. In addition, the soldiers would all be sentenced to 56 days in army prison, and would then be transferred to three years of non-combat duty.
Hesder students generally serve 14-18 months in active combat duty, preceded and followed by some three years in their yeshivot, for a total of five years. Other soldiers serve in the army for three years and are then released.
Arutz-7 contacted Rabbi David Stav, co-head of the Petach Tikvah hesder yeshiva, who coordinates the yeshiva heads' contacts with the army on hesder-related issues. Promising to look into the matter, he said that if indeed the Chief of Staff made such a threat, "this is very grave; he has no authority to even make such a decision."
Rabbi David Fendel, head of the yeshivat hesder in Sderot, said, "This shows just how fearful the army is of our convictions. The more they threaten, the more they prove how much pressure they're under. But it won't help them - and it has nothing to do with what the students' teachers and rabbis tell them; most of our students simply are unable to carry out such orders, and don’t even need to ask us."
Their battalion commander then informed them that Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz had ordered that any hesder platoon that refuses orders would be immediately dismantled. In addition, the soldiers would all be sentenced to 56 days in army prison, and would then be transferred to three years of non-combat duty.
Hesder students generally serve 14-18 months in active combat duty, preceded and followed by some three years in their yeshivot, for a total of five years. Other soldiers serve in the army for three years and are then released.
Arutz-7 contacted Rabbi David Stav, co-head of the Petach Tikvah hesder yeshiva, who coordinates the yeshiva heads' contacts with the army on hesder-related issues. Promising to look into the matter, he said that if indeed the Chief of Staff made such a threat, "this is very grave; he has no authority to even make such a decision."
Rabbi David Fendel, head of the yeshivat hesder in Sderot, said, "This shows just how fearful the army is of our convictions. The more they threaten, the more they prove how much pressure they're under. But it won't help them - and it has nothing to do with what the students' teachers and rabbis tell them; most of our students simply are unable to carry out such orders, and don’t even need to ask us."