Posted on 02/22/2006 7:43:14 AM PST by Alouette
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The IDF's Nachal Hareidi unit, contrary to press reports, will not be closed, but the army has decided to limit the number of non-Hareidi soldiers who are allowed to enlist in the program. |
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The Nachal Hareidi Battalion was established in order to allow soldiers from the Hareidi-religious sector to serve in the IDF, while adapting the environment in which they serve to their specific needs. Though members of the Hareidi community have enlisted in the unit, it has also become a viable option for religious soldiers from various other communities, including volunteers from overseas. All food served to the unit is certified Glatt kosher and the staff on the base is all male. Torah classes are also offered as well as other services. Following the IDF's participation in the implementation of the unilateral Disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria, rumors that the unit would be closed abounded after soldiers from the unit boasted that the government didn't dare assign them to take part in the expulsion due to fear of mass refusal. IDF Chief of Manpower Maj.-Gen. Elazar Stern has now issued a statement establishing a quota for the number of non-Hareidi religious soldiers allowed to join the unit. Stern says the move is a step toward the goal of having the entire unit made up of Hareidi-religious recruits. "Lately, the number of Hareidim [plural of Hareidi] enlisting in this battalion has grown, indicating that the potential for recruiting among the Hareidi population has also increased," Stern's office wrote. "We hope, ultimately, to reach the goal set for the battalion - that all its soldiers will be from the Hareidi sector." Stern has decided that enlistment levels must now be such that 70% of the soldiers in the unit come from the Hareidi sector. "This fits in with the intention of the IDF to limit, as much as possible, assignment of recruits to the battalion from populations for whom the battalion was not actually set up," Stern said. The father of a soldier serving in the brigade, who asked that his name be withheld, said that the decision is one based purely on Stern's personal ideological conviction that religious soldiers should not be isolated from the general population in the army. "I also feel that this is an attempt by Stern to punish the religious public for the Disengagement," he added. "They all signed a petition saying they would refuse orders if called upon to take part in the expulsion. They had no part in the Disengagement and there were a number of soldiers who protested when not on duty." Nachal Hareidi is also an option for religious soldiers that want to attend any yeshiva that is not part of the hesder program, which organizes integration of yeshiva study and army service over a five-year period. Following the Disengagement, heads of Hesder yeshivot that advised their students to disobey orders to remove Jews from parts of the Land of Israel were reprimanded and threatened with the closing of their academies. The Hesder program as a whole is undergoing changes initiated by Stern, as well. The Manpower Division says that as of the November 2005 draft, the IDF has already begun recruitment on the basis of the new policy. In a normal draft, the unit would have accepted over 120 soldiers. In November, however, they only accepted 80 soldiers, leaving the unit 60% Hareidi, 30% non-Hareidi religious, and 10% of the members volunteers from overseas as part of the Machal program. Recruiters reportedly demanded to see the files of recruits, in order to prove, via the high school they attended, etc., that they were indeed Hareidi. "We are prepared for the possibility of a slight drop in enlistment numbers in the short term, but this should lead to stability, in terms of the battalion fulfilling its original purpose," a statement read. Click here for a photo essay about the Nachal Hareidi unit |
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Is there a special corps for Ethiopian Jews?...........
"Is there a special corps for Ethiopian Jews?..........."
The Falatian Brigades
"Is there a special corps for Ethiopian Jews?..........."
The Falatian Brigades
interesting.
That sounds vaguely obscene.......
Now that Sharon is out of the picture, the real face of the government emerges. I wonder how they will try to shut religious Jews out of the Knesset.
Kadima will form a coalition with Labor and Meretz. Tommy Lapid's dream come true, except that he is not in charge.
Well, shoot, if the IDF doesn't want them, we'll take them! This Olmert no-count and his minions seem bound and determined to minimize, marginalize, and if possible, destroy any an all presence of religious Jews in the land of Israel. What a "maroon!"
"We are prepared for the possibility of a slight drop in enlistment numbers in the short term, but this should lead to stability, in terms of the battalion fulfilling its original purpose," a statement read."
I think this article is spinning the facts which I have read elsewhere. The Nachal Hareidi is unable to fill its ranks with Hareidi volunteers.
The Nachal Hareidi Unit was formed because Haredim usually do not serve in the army and have typically received deferments from army service on religious grounds. In an effort to encourage them to enlist and serve their country this Unit was founded.
That Haredim do not typically serve in a country where military service is mandatory for all men is a tremendous source of resentment by Israelis who resent this religious community.
The Haredim (Chasidim) are different than the Orthodox religious who do serve in the army often through a dual program of Army and Yeshiva (religious study). The Hesder (these combo Units)Units often serve in the West Bank where the Yeshivas are located. They make up some of the best units ands officers in the Israeli Army.
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