Find it on Chananya Weissman’s Substack here…
Summary and intro by Chananya Weissman:
The IDF’s Spiritual War Against the Jewish People
Following this article is a scan of a Hebrew booklet that is geared primarily for the so-called “haredi” population, but should be shared with the “Dati Leumi” population that retains a cultish worship of the state and the IDF. For that matter, it should be read and seriously considered by all Jews, for, whether we realize it or not, whether we accept it or not, we are all bound by the Torah and Halacha above all else.
The booklet explains in detail why IDF servitude is an overwhelming spiritual danger to Torah-observant Jews, and that assurances by the secular establishment to safeguard and respect the spiritual needs of “haredi” soldiers are a lie and a trap. In the past such promises have been routinely broken, and there is no reason to believe that the latest iteration is any different.
This warning is supported by numerous testimonies of rabbis with direct knowledge (including Dati Leumi rabbis), IDF officials, media reports, and soldiers who learned the hard way.
The booklet details how religious soldiers, including those in “religious units”, are often targeted for abuse by secular commanders, who are on a mission to trample their values and show them who’s boss. Once in the teeth of the system, religious soldiers can be forced to transfer to other units, and forced to break Halacha under flimsy pretenses, with extreme retribution if they disobey. This is done deliberately and with malice.
Very few individuals are strong enough to withstand and overcome this pressure for long — pressure that they should never be subjected to in the first place. But once they are in the system, the IDF owns them like cattle, and they have very little recourse. Even the IDF rabbis are essentially powerless to protect them, for they too are mere pawns in the system.
One cited report notes that 1/3 of “haredi” soldiers stopped wearing a yarmulke as a result of their ordeals. This figure is eerily similar to the percentage of Jewish children who gave up religion after being forcibly conscripted into the Russian army under the Cantonist Decree.
Isn’t it something that the faux-Jewish army would have the same “success rate” as the Tsar waging war on the very foundations of Judaism?
Mind you, we are talking about Jews with a relatively strong commitment to Torah and Halacha being utterly broken by the IDF, giving it up so the physical abuse and psychological torture will finally stop.
It must also be noted that many of those who don’t completely give up halachic observance still fall, and it is uncertain that even the mightiest can emerge from the furnace of kefira and abuse completely unscathed.
The booklet further notes that the most optimistic estimates of Dati Leumi soldiers indicate that “only” 25% abandon religiosity in the IDF. More pessimistic estimates place it at over 40%. Again, those who manage to hang on will still be affected.
And for what?
The booklet further details that soldiers are subjected to hazing rituals, forced Shabbos desecration for flimsy reasons (which utterly breaks many people), and forced contact with women in situations that are completely immodest and spiritually toxic — all in the name of enlightenment and equality, which trumps both Halacha and even what’s best from a purely military standpoint.
Because, after all, the IDF is not so much a military as a social engineering mechanism, where soldiers are conditioned and controlled around the clock, under the complete control of people whose values and agendas are often antithetical to their own and the people they are supposedly protecting. Disobeying orders for any reason is not an option.
The booklet warns people to wake up about the realities of IDF servitude, including and especially for religious soldiers, and not to be fooled by promises, lured by enticements, or to succumb to pressure.
The threat of imprisonment is largely a paper tiger, for the state cannot possibly imprison everyone, and desperately hopes that making an example of a few people will be enough to terrorize enough people to build momentum for mass conscription. Only by standing up to the pressure, and even being willing to make a heroic sacrifice for the Torah and the Jewish people, can this threat be neutralized.
Indeed, as the booklet explains, those who are imprisoned for refusing to be drafted have far more rights and protection than IDF soldiers, and will be fine in the long run. Furthermore, there are many resources available to guide and support those who receive draft notices and are pursued by the evil regime.
It’s a shame the Dati Leumi world has not created similar resources for their many troubled IDF servants and to protect those who would really rather not be persecuted, maimed, and killed anymore for dubious reasons.
And it’s a shame neither the Dati Leumi nor the Haredi have reached out across the artificial color war divide to join forces on something of such critical importance and mutual interest. Hopefully my urging will set something in motion.
There is much more in the booklet, and I hope everyone will share it widely. I have no personal affiliation with it or the people behind it. I share it simply for educational purposes with hopes that something good will come of it.