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Escalating Tensions

Rabbi Betzalel: Kodkod Recruits Are 'Amalek'

Member of Council of Torah Sages condemns 300 yeshiva students enlisting in Kodkod program • 'This is a war of mitzvos, we must sacrifice ourselves' | Harsh rhetoric escalates (Haredim)

Hagaon Harav Shmuel Bezalel

In what marks one of the most severe condemnations yet of Haredi military service, HaGaon Rabbi Shmuel Betzalel, a member of the Council of Torah Sages and Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef, has launched an unprecedented verbal assault against young Haredi men enlisting in the IDF's Kodkod program. Speaking at a gathering of rabbis in southern Israel, Rabbi Betzalel employed extraordinarily harsh language, comparing the recruitment phenomenon to biblical evil.

"Three hundred students from among the finest in the yeshiva world are enlisting in Kodkod," Rabbi Betzalel declared during his remarks. "We are obligated to pull them out of Gehinnom!" The senior rabbi characterized the situation as "the serpent of death biting into the yeshiva world," adding that it "shakes the foundations of the yeshiva world."

The rhetoric escalated further when Rabbi Betzalel stated: "This is literally Amalek!" invoking the biblical nation that represents the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people. He emphasized that opposing Haredi enlistment constitutes "a war of mitzvah" and proclaimed: "We must sacrifice our very souls!"

Rabbinic Letter Declares No Permission for New Military Tracks

HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, another prominent Rosh Yeshiva, also issued a sharply worded letter addressed to community rabbis and Torah leaders in southern cities. The letter explicitly states that there exists no halachic permission whatsoever to join the newly established military recruitment tracks in the region.

"It has come to my attention, to my great distress, that as part of efforts to bring about the conscription of Torah students, they have established various tracks and given them names such as Kodkod and the like," Rabbi Hirsch wrote in his letter. He specifically referenced tracks opened in the cities of Netivot and Be'er Sheva.

The letter clarifies the rabbinic position that anyone joining these programs effectively surrenders their autonomy to military authority. "All these tracks are an inseparable part of the army, and whoever goes there hands himself over to the control and authority of the military government and becomes like a soldier in every respect," the letter states unequivocally.

Haredi soldiers drafting
Haredi soldiers drafting (photo: IDF Spokesperson Unit)

The Context: Hundreds of Haredi Men Enlisting

The fierce rabbinic opposition comes as the IDF prepares for a significant influx of Haredi recruits. According to recent military data, approximately 500 young Haredi men are slated to enlist in the coming days, with roughly 300 designated for combat units and 200 for technology and support roles.

These recruits are being integrated into several specialized units designed to accommodate Haredi lifestyle requirements, including the veteran Netzah Yehuda battalion currently operating in Gaza, the newly forming Hashmonaim Brigade for regional security, and the Hetz company within the Paratroopers' 202nd Battalion. The IDF has also established a professional "Mehadrin and Special Populations" department to ensure strict kosher standards and religious accommodations for observant soldiers.

The Kodkod program specifically targets Haredi men who wish to serve while maintaining their religious lifestyle, offering frameworks that include Torah study time, kosher food supervision, and gender-separated environments. However, senior rabbinic authorities view these accommodations as insufficient justification for what they consider abandonment of full-time Torah study.
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