Yishai, a Dati Leumi talmid yeshiva, told Kol Chai about a growing phenomenon of Dati Leumi talmidim who seek to defer their military service to continue learning Torah being classified as deserters.

Yishai said that many of his friends have already been declared deserters despite intending to serve in the IDF in the future.

“They want to enlist—just not at age 19,” he explained. “They want to postpone their service so they can learn for a few more years, but because of problems with obtaining draft deferments, they end up being classified as deserters.”

He said that these are tamidim attending well-known Dati Leumi yeshivos rather than Hesder yeshivos.

He added: “This isn’t just a war against the Chareidi community—it’s a war against everything that is holy. The same people who want to dismantle the Chareidi Torah world also want to dismantle the Religious Zionist Torah world.”

He added that, in his view, this is part of a broader campaign against Torah institutions. He also referred to protests within the Religious Zionist community over religious issues in the IDF, including the integration of women into the Armored Corps, saying that these developments make it more difficult for young men who wish to enlist while maintaining their religious way of life.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)