Black vs Srugie
From the Jerusalem Post:
Aug 10, 2007 8:42 | Updated Aug 10, 2007 8:42
Haredi rabbis in IDF fear replacement
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Haredi rabbis in the IDF rabbinate are concerned that the army wants to replace them with rabbis from the national religious sector, Israel Radio reported on Friday.
The rabbis say the haredi presence in the military rabbinate is decreasing, and that there is a growing tendency to prepare national-religious officers for the rabbinate.
According to one IDF source, the fact that priority is given to rabbis coming from fighting units rather than haredi yeshivot could cause a rift between those yeshivot and the army.
The report also said the number of rabbis taking the army's officer's course has doubled in the past year, and even tripled in comparison to previous years. The rabbis receive the rank of lieutenant following the course.
The IDF said in response to the report that the number of rabbis pressed into officer positions due to a shortage of reservist rabbis has grown, and added that the army respects every rabbi as-is and will continue to encourage the service of haredi officers.
> There are so many things that are wrong with this, I dont know where to start. Oy.
2 comments:
Where to start is a good question, but I'm actually interested in your take on this. It only seems logical to me to include rabbis from a movement where the people actually spend time in the military! I don't think you can say... "oh yeah... give us jobs in the military... an institution we revile from a state we don't respect." Then again I'm not Israeli and I'm not in the military, and I'm not particularly religious. So Sid, what do you think?
This is a complicated issue... To break it down, you have to look at a number of factors.
To become an army Rabbi, you have to take a course which lasts several months. You then become an officer with simulated ranks. While you are an officer in your area of expertise, there are areas which you don’t have involvement in. This is the case for many army Rabbis who do not do proper officers school. The Rabbi course is usually, almost always, taken after a soldier has finished his mandatory service, studied in yeshiva, received ordination from the civilian rabbinate, and takes the course. Most of these Rabbis will then become army Rabbis in the reserves, with a tiny percent becoming career officers.
The army has a large increase in demand for Rabbis in the reserves. This is because Rabbis will now be serving in much smaller units and therefore be more accessible to their units. The logic is that soldiers in the reserves should have regular access to their Rabbi, and not have to share him with other units which may be all over the country. Since the Rabbi course in the army is post mandatory military service, the course is geared towards someone who at age 21-24 is probably not married, does not have kids, and is much more willing to commit to the course. This is usually not the case with many Haredi soldiers. They tend to get married and have a family much younger than National Religious soldiers and therefore cannot commit the same way in most cases. There are many Haredi soldiers in the army, but few who sign additional time to continue serving.
There are many Haredi soldiers who serve all over in the army, love the country, and the army. I think it’s an overgeneralization to lump all ultra orthodox into the non serving category, but in general, there are many problems in that society which have to be addressed, including army service.
In general, you’re on the money. The people getting the posts are the people who are serving and interested in them. If more Haredi soldiers wanted to continue their service and become officers or Rabbis, they would be welcomed with open arms.
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