Last night in his weekly Motzei Shabbat shiur, Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef, commented on the Draft Law situation under discussion in Israel right now.
Rav Yosef commented saying, "if they force us to go to the army, we will all leave Israel and go to live abroad in the Diaspora. Without the kollels and yeshivas the State will not continue to exist. The soldiers cannot succeed in battle without our Torah learning. The Torah is what protects us."
This is an old threat/promise/warning. I think it was originally said by Rav Shach back in the day. Rav Yosef saying it is somewhat interesting because Shas has a lot of supporters who do serve in the army.
Nobody, even the most dogmatic people about drafting all Haredim, is saying the yeshivas and kollels would be shut down - there is always a gap in ages and yeshivas can continue to function while some are int he army and others in yeshiva, depending on age and status. So nobody is talking about shutting down yeshivas and kollels, not even Yair Lapid or Avigdor Lieberman.
Why didnt Rav Yosef speak out when it was announced that the hesder yeshiva portion would be cut down with the boys drafted earlier than planned? Their Torah learning isnt valuable? Does Rav Yosef only represent Haredi yeshivas?
I have never understood clearly what it means when they say the Torah protects us and gives the army the ability and power to succeed. How many people need to be learning for that protection? Where was that protection on October 7, with so many tens of thousands in yeshiva and more in kollel? This has never really been tested. They take credit for the successes of the IDF, but I havent seen any explanation of the failures and disasters in Israel despite all the Torah learning.
Back to the the threat, I dont think it has people quite as worried as he thinks it does. First, where will they all go? People with foreign citizenship can go back to those countries, but where will the tens of thousands of people go en masse who do not hold foreign citizenship? Will those countries agree to fund all those yeshivas and kollels the way Israel does? And second, it is a free world and if some people want to leave thinking they will have it better somewhere else, they are welcome to. Every person can decide where he or she wants to live. I am not sure too many people will care if some leave. And even if they do, many will stay and yeshivas and kollels will continue to operate in Israel.
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