Hesder Yeshivas have long since been considered one of the strongest core groups within the IDF. Hesder, or arrangement, is a unique Israeli creation that allows religious young men to pursue Talmudic studies and later serve in the armed forces.
But their contribution is not without preconditions, and they so far have been allowed to serve in homogenous units comprised of only their fellow yeshiva recruits. Now Human Resources Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Elazar Stern, himself one of the army's top religious officers, aims to put an end to the practice.
New orders issued by Stern will bar hesder yeshiva students from joining the Golani and Paratrooper brigades, two of the most popular combat choices for religious recruits. The army will also change the manner in which it accepts hesder students to elite units.
Yeshiva educators accused Stern of having a vendetta against the program. Stern has spoken out against homogenous units in the past. The IDF denied the allegations and said that the hesder recruits "have received preferential treatment for many years and from time to time there are changes that stem from the army's changing needs."
A key thought to keep in mind concerning the “homogenous” units for Hesder yeshiva students means that these soldiers would not be serving directly along side women; as it violates religious rules. One has to stop and look at the motivation behind the IDF’s decision to actively terminate a key program which has produced some of Israel’s most motivated and dedicated combat soldiers.
It is not so much about “integration” as a way of actively discouraging religious Jews from participating in the IDF; hence, the outright ban on Hesher students/soldiers from joining the Golani and paratrooper brigades.
Their active participation in the IDF presents a two-fold problem. For those who believe Israeli security can best be maintained by pursuing an Auschwitz border policy - it leaves the IDF vulnerable to potential conflict when the government of Israel starts using soldiers to act as a bailiff’s in order to evict Jews from their homes.
Furthermore, it potentially trains “settlers” as combat soldiers. No current Israeli government, who is committed to Auschwitz border policies, wants the IDF to face the possibility of having to fight against settlers who are not only trained and forged in combat, but are trained to know how to actively plan a fight. It’s ironic that two millenniums later and in the Jewish state of all places; the idea of religious Jews fighting is an ideal which is too scary to fully realize.
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