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Haaretz |
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| By Haaretz January 25, 2005 |
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| Hesder unit in tent |
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The Israeli military said Tuesday that it is disbanding special units that allow young Orthodox Jewish men to split their time between religious studies and army service, but claimed that the timing -- the run-up to Israel's pullout from Gaza, opposed by many Orthodox Jews -- is just a coincidence.
For decades, the hesder ("arrangement") seminaries have allowed observant young men to serve in combat units while continuing their rabbinical studies. Many of the schools, some of which are in the Judea and Samaria, have become centers of opposition to the pullout, which includes dismantling all 21 settlements in Gaza as well as four in northern Samaria.
The army's chief of human resources, Maj. Gen. Elazar Stern, denied the decision to disband the units was directly linked to the troop withdrawal. However, Stern said the units would be shut down in March, four months before the evacuation of settlers is to begin.
Hardline lawmakers and rabbis criticized the decision and threatened to prevent its implementation.
Settler leaders have said they expect thousands of soldiers to refuse orders to dismantle settlements as part of the pullback. Prominent settler rabbis have called on soldiers not to participate in the evacuation of settlers.
Many Orthodox Jews, including those among the settlers, believe that Israel cannot give up land in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying it is part of the biblical "Land of Israel" and was promised to the Jews by God.
Integrating the observant soldiers into regular units will help moderate soldiers who for political or religious reasons don't want to carry out an order, Stern told Israel Army Radio.
"We in the army don't ever want units based on ideology, because we don't want to choose missions according to the ideological character of the units," Stern said. "We are using the same logic regarding the mission of the (Gaza) evacuation."
Lawmaker Effie Eitam of pro-settlement the National Religious Party, a former general, said he would try to get the decision reversed. "It raises grave suspicions that the army is making political decisions when it calls for the dismantling of the seminary units," Eitam said.
The decision was made despite the opposition of hesder yeshiva heads, who had previously told the IDF they objected to the planned move, said Yeshivot Hahesder spokesman Rabbi David Stav.
Stav told Israel Radio on Tuesday that yeshiva heads intend to ask the defense minister and IDF chief of staff to prevent the plan from being implemented. He said they are also considering other options, such as petitioning the High Court of Justice to order the decision be reversed.
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