Haredi MK Yitzhak Pindrus, a member of the United Torah Judaism party, on Sunday evening promised that his party will not bring down the government.
In an interview with Kol Barama Radio, Pindrus urged haredi yeshiva students to listen to the Torah sages, and not respond to the summons from the IDF to appear for enlistment.
"I do not know a yeshiva student who asks the Knesset committee what to do if someone tells him to desecrate Shabbat (Sabbath), so, too, yeshiva students do not be turn to me or to the Knesset committee on the matter of enlistment," he said. "The sages of Israel have instructed not to respond to the summons, and each person needs to do what Jewish law dictates."
Jewish law does not specifically forbid joining the IDF; in fact, fighting for Israel's security is widely considered a "milchemet mitzva," a war that the Torah commands us to fight. Although among the haredi community, enlistment in the IDF is uncommon, other Torah-observant Jews do enlist, most prominently Religious Zionists, although Chabad-Lubavitch hasidim also commonly serve in the IDF. Among many haredim, there is a belief that Jewish law does not allow enlistment, due to the risk that the individual in question will not adhere to his lifestyle and Torah study if he joins the IDF.
Regarding the discussions in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Pindrus said, "I think that [committee chairman MK Yuli] Edelstein is trying to do professional work. He has already explained that broad consensus does not simply mean with [MK Benny] Gantz, and slammed the Defense Ministry for not behaving in an innocent fashion. I hope that this will be expressed in the discussions."
"The draft orders will not change anything, and will not affect the Torah world. Do you think that everything that the Torah world has will be canceled because of bureaucratic documents? Maximum - the yeshiva students who need to travel will not travel and will remain to study Torah. That is an important thing to learn."
Regarding the legal battle, Pindrus said, "The masks have come off and the picture is clear: You see what the Attorney General wants, you see that the Supreme Court has ruled unanimously - even the conservatives are against enlistment. They have only one goal: to bring down the government And we will not give them that pleasure."
When asked who might be a candidate to replace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he responded, "These people in the left-wing bloc, they are people who are bothered by anything that is connected to tradition. We have no reason to go with them, they are not relevant. The problem is not political but legal - Netanyahu did what he could to solve the draft crisis."