Letter from Graduates of Yeshivat Har Bracha to the Chief of General Staff: "If there is no Hesder – there is no reserve duty"

Eitan Fried
Etrog News
14 December 09

After Barak announced yesterday on the cancellation of the army arrangement with the Har Bracha Hesder yeshiva, in lieu of the failure of Rosh Yeshiva Eliezer Melamed to appear for a "hearing" scheduled by the Minister of Defence, a letter signed by 100 graduates of Har Bracha was sent to the IDF Chief of General Staff. The letter stated: "If the Hesder is cancelled, reserve duty will also be cancelled. The IDF is showing us the way out, so we will leave on our own accord."

After the dramatic occurrence yesterday, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that the arrangement between the IDF and Yeshivat Har Bracha would be discontinued, all because the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, didn't show up for a "hearing" scheduled by Barak – the crisis has reached a new height this morning. A harsh letter, signed by 100 graduates and students of the Har Bracha yeshiva, as well as residents of "Har Bracha", was sent to the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi. The letter informs Ashkenazi in no uncertain terms that if the hesder arrangement is discontinues – then they will not report for reserve duty.

"We are greatly sorrowed by statements we have recently been hearing, made by the leaders of the IDF and the decision makers in the Defense ministry. Statements that endanger the status of the IDF, and are causing cracks in the fighting spirit and motivation among the soldiers. The statements are a direct threat to the army," wrote graduates of "Har Bracha" in their letter to the Chief of Staff.

"We enlisted in the army with a sense of devotion to our people and our land, and many of us battled in the second Lebonese war and in the Cast Lead operation. We were prepared to fulfill every mission to the best of our abilities, and even to give up our lives, if that became necessary. Our roshei yeshivos taught us to be the first, and the best, in our efforts to defend the State of Israel. We were educated at the feet of our roshei yeshivos, and thus saw our mandatory and reserve service in the army as a holy mission."

The letter continued, "In the last few days, the Hesder yeshivos have been pushed out of their respected place in the army. If in fact the IDF and the government follow through with their decision, we interpret that to mean that the IDF is rejecting us as fighters in its service, that the IDF doesn't want us, is throwing us out."

The graduates of the yeshiva conclude the letter with a concrete threat: "We only enlisted in the army and continued to report for reserve duty because of the education we received in the yeshiva. If the army is now choosing to show our yeshiva the door, then with heavy hearts we have no choice but to complete the process. Therefore, if the army fulfills its threat, then we will unfortunately no longer consider ourselves to be a part of the army that has rejected us."

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