The Chazon Ish Did Not Think that Chareidim Should Get A Total Exemption

 

The following article goes against the revisionist "history" regularly cited in Charedie circles!   “Haemes v’hashalom ehavu”.

In the days of the Chazon Ish, the charedi world was very different, and charedim who did not “make a living” from Torah study were obliged to serve in the IDF.

The proof is that one of the Chazon Ish’s students, Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, who later became head of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, also held the same view regarding those “worldly roamers wandering aimlessly through the streets of Bnei Brak and Jerusalem.” He ruled that charedi draft evaders are no less than persecutors of Torah study, and that the charedi public has no interest in freeing them from the IDF draft.

Letter from Rav Shach stating that those who don't learn cannot be exempt drom the draft 

But who will tell us that this was also the outlook of the great leader, the Chazon Ish? 

This exact question is examined, among other topics, in the monumental book by researcher and historian Prof. Binyamin Brown, “The Chazon Ish — The Decisor, the Believer, and the Leader of the charedi Revolution” (Magnes Jerusalem and Yeshiva University Press, New York).

On page 304, Brown writes: 

“He [the Chazon Ish] did not think that the exemption from military service should be given to every Haredi Jew simply by virtue of being charedi, but only to a fairly narrow group of yeshiva students.” 

And here the learned author gives us a bit of history:

 “In fact, that was the situation until Agudat Yisrael joined the Begin government in 1977. From that point on, almost every charedi man declared ‘Torato Umanuto’  and received a postponement of service. Under the umbrella of this exemption, thousands of charedi men who did not study in religious institutions at all, and in some cases those who had dropped out of yeshivot , were released from service.”

It appears that the first Likud prime minister, Menachem Begin, was dazzled and swept up by the displays of piety from charedi leadership and granted a broad, wholesale exemption to the youth in black hats, regardless of the cost in terms of the blood of fellow Israelis who were not part of that camp.

Brown continues: “It is quite clear that the Chazon Ish would not have justified exemption on that basis. In his halachic novellæ he tended even to narrow the bounds of the Torah-based exemptions to the ‘returners from war’: those who ‘built a house and did not inaugurate it,’ ‘planted a vineyard and did not yet enjoy its produce,’ ‘married but did not yet take a wife,’ or the ‘timid and faint-hearted’ — and he ruled that these ‘returners’ [i.e., those exempt from appearing to defend Israel] are only released ‘when Israel’s survival does not depend on them.’”

And here comes the most astonishing punch line. The Chazon Ish writes in his chiddushim on Orach Chaim 112/114, chap.6 clause 3): “And if they are needed [i.e., those precious yeshiva students], they must come to assist their brothers.” Plain and simple. The Chazon Ish is explicit, with no conditions, no caveats. Just close the Gemara and stand up to save Israel immediately. Nothing more to add.

To provide further support for his conclusion, Brown quotes Pe’er Hador — a book written by a group of charedi writers led by Rabbi Shlomo Cohen, a pupil of the Chazon Ish from the Vilna period and one of his great admirers, considered the official charedi biography of the Chazon Ish: “Even Peer HaDor, written before the wholesale exemption for Haredim in 1977, dares to cite things in his name (which today would of course be censored) that point to his opposition to freeing those who do not study Torah. According to one rumor he recommended conscription to the IDF for ‘those whose Torah is not their profession’ (see Peer Hador cols. 262–264), and according to another testimony (Peer HaDor even cites it, amazingly, from the newspaper HaTzofeh — note by B.B.) he even said that one who is not truly ‘Torato Umanuto’ and pretends to be a yeshiva student in order to obtain a postponement from military service has the status of a persecutor of all the yeshivot in the land.”

Brown cites additional sources to corroborate his assessment and sums them up:

“There is great doubt whether the path of charedi society today would have been acceptable to him [the Chazon Ish].”

Ben & Jerry Continues their Hate Campaign Launches “Watermelon Flavor”

 

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a longtime political activist & Israel hater, has launched an online campaign urging supporters of the Palestinian cause to help create a “watermelon flavor” and design packaging for an imagined pro-Palestinian ice cream product.

Cohen claims—without evidence—that Magnum Ice Cream blocked Ben & Jerry’s from releasing a flavor intended to “support peace in Palestine.”

 He is now calling on activists to “show MagnumGlobal what creativity and solidarity can do,” urging them to suggest names, ingredients, and package designs featuring the watermelon symbol often used by anti-Israel groups.

“This is a challenge for everyone who believes individuals and companies should not be silenced in talking about Palestine,” Cohen declared in a promotional post, framing the campaign as a protest against corporate suppression of pro-Palestinian messaging.

Cohen announced that a fan-submitted concept by participant Laura Davis had been selected as the “flavor winner,” although the product is not associated with any actual ice-cream manufacturer and exists only as part of the activist effort.

Cohen, who has a long record of public criticism of Israel, is once again leveraging his celebrity and business legacy to push highly charged political narratives. The campaign—like several of his previous initiatives—aims to pressure global companies while portraying Israel and its supporters as responsible for “silencing” dissent.

Critics also point to the irony of politicizing consumer products under the banner of “free expression,” saying such efforts deepen divisions rather than promote peace or constructive dialogue.

Despite gaining attention on social media, Cohen’s initiative remains a symbolic protest—another example of brand activism being used to advance anti-Israel messaging under the guise of a consumer-driven campaign.

In a World Gone Mad ..Steve Witkoff Plans Meeting With Senior Hamas Official

 

 Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for peace missions, is planning to meet soon with Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ chief negotiator, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The meeting would signal that the Trump administration seeks to maintain direct communication with Hamas despite the U.S. designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization.

It also would show that Witkoff remains undeterred by criticism from Israeli and American voices who argue that U.S. engagement lends the group undue legitimacy.

Cease-fire talks for Gaza are expected to be among the topics Witkoff raises with the Hamas official.

Zera Shimshon Parshas Chaya Sarah

 

BBC Gives a "shvache" Apology to Trump after facing a Billion Dollar Lawsuit

 

The numbers 6 & 7 May not be a Segula for you at all!

 

Netanyahu Leads in Polls despite Huge Leftists Protests

 A Channel 12 News poll published this evening shows that if elections were held today, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, would receive 27 seats, followed by Naftali Bennett's party with 22-unchanged from last week.

The Democrats party, led by Yair Golan, would receive 10 seats (a decrease of one seat), while Yesh Atid, Shas, Yisrael Beytenu, and Otzma Yehudit each receive 9 seats. The Yeshar! party of Gadi Eisenkot is strengthening, with 8 seats. United Torah Judaism would get 7 seats, and Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would each receive 5 seats.

Parties not passing the electoral threshold: Blue and White (2.9%), Religious Zionism (2.5%), Balad (1.6%), and the Reservists Party (1.2%).

Charedim Should be Shamed, not Pressed into Service

by Saul Sadka

A few weeks ago I was sitting around a table here in Tel Aviv with a group of well known locals. We played a game where everyone had to offer an “unpopular opinion.” And I went all out, people actually gasped, so I suppose I won, since I proposed:

 “Haredim should not be forcibly conscripted to the IDF.”

Most Haredim are fascinated by the world beyond their shtetls. They are avid consumers of news and, secretly—though officially non-Zionist for arcane religious reasons—identify with the State of Israel.

Yes, it is unjust and shameful that they refuse to serve in the armed forces alongside their brethren, and they should indeed be shamed and penalized for that. The current official Haredi units are composed mostly of people on the margins of their society, or of those who have all but left it. In their hearts, even if they won’t admit it, most Haredim know that their side was wrong about Zionism and Herzl—and that the leader of the religious Zionists, Rabbi Kook, was correct.

It isn’t me saying that, but one of the most senior rabbis in the Haredi world (whom I won’t name, since it was a private conversation), related to nearly every Lithuanian rabbinic giant of the last generation, told me recently: “Everyone knows Rabbi Kook was correct.”

They cannot admit this to each other, since the core creed of Haredi Judaism is that “Everything new is forbidden.” Hence the clothing choices preserved from whichever era was deemed best for each subgroup: 18th-century garb for the Hasidim, early-20th-century attire for the yeshiva types, and early-1970s shift collars over jacket lapels for the religious Zionists, who still pine for the era when Sinai was Israel.

The thing to know about the Haredim is that they see themselves as the True Jews. Anyone who comes to prick their bubble—for it is a bubble—they have been trained to see as the latest incarnation of the eternal enemy of the True Jews. But more and more, the cognitive dissonance is breaking through. It is the Jihadis who are the true enemy—they know this deep down—and their daily study of ancient texts isn’t actually what protects their families from the Jihadis. It’s the guys and girls with the guns.

If pressed, the Haredim will argue that while all Israel is one nation, they are the soul and the secular are the body. But they’ve actually got it the wrong way round. Studying ancient texts in the same way generation after generation, while not contributing productively or equally bearing the burdens of society, is not “soul.” Their culture and even language increasingly cringe toward mainstream Israeli culture; little that is original emerges from Haredi society.

It is, in fact, the secular who are the soul—who have truly built a new Jew. The Haredim are, accidentally, the body—their profligate birthrate has buried the hopes the local Arabs once had of outnumbering, and thus overcoming, their Jewish neighbors. The secular though they we were body, but turn out to the soul. The Haredi think they are the soul but are actually the body. The message: Don’t force things to hard.

Soft shaming for being “yellow” will have more effect, and with less of the negatively side-effects of any attempt at forced conscription. Israeli politicians should avoid the easy point-scoring they can achieve here and focus instead on the long game.

Oh oh! Defiance on Tehran’s metro

 

Rare defiance on Tehran’s metro: soldiers wave Iran’s pre-revolution lion flag

the country’s original flag, bearing the lion-and-sun emblem used before the Islamic Revolution, a direct challenge to the symbols of the current regime.  

For uniformed soldiers to display that flag in public is a bold act of protest in a state that harshly punishes dissent, especially inside the security forces. 

The lion-and-sun banner has long been adopted by regime opponents as a symbol of a free, pre-Khomeini Iran

Iran has lots of missiles but zero water...Millions will have to flee

 

*Tehran’s Water Is Failing Fast, and Iran Says Millions May Have to Flee*

Iran warns it may have to evacuate its own capital as the taps run dry and key dams hit “empty.” 

Tehran is already seeing pressure cuts, dry neighborhoods and panic buying of water tanks, as years of regime mismanagement collide with a brutal drought and rising public anger.

The same regime that funds terror proxies across the region is now telling millions of its own citizens to prepare for rationing – and possibly to leave their city – because it failed to secure something as basic as drinking water.