Deri caught on record telling yeshiva students not to enlist in the IDF ‘in a moment of weakness’

Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri is filmed telling yeshiva students that they should not even think about abandoning their studies to enlist in the army in order to contribute militarily to the current war in Gaza.

In remarks made last week at the Shaar HaMelech yeshiva in Jerusalem and aired by the i24 news network, Deri can be heard discouraging the students from enlisting, stating “God forbid it should occur to anyone here in a moment of weakness that maybe at a time like this when the people of Israel are in a state of war…that anybody should, God forbid, perhaps think…maybe we really need to do something different, maybe we need to contribute. God forbid.”

Deri then clarifies that he is referring to yeshiva students rather than the general Haredi community.

“Gentleman, the people carrying the burden [of the defense of Israel] are the Torah students.”

While not a minister, Deri is a regular observer in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet and is closely involved in security issues.

The Haredim have been pushing hard for the passage of legislation enabling most ultra-Orthodox males to continue to avoid military conscription or other national service, in the wake of last year’s High Court decision that such exemptions are illegal on equality grounds.

The government’s failure to advance such legislation led to Shas quitting the government last month, although it has remained part of the coalition.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently eligible for IDF service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, due to the strain on standing and reservist forces in the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges. Currently, only around 1,800 Haredim enlist annually. About 2,700 enlisted over the past year, far short of the IDF’s goal of 4,800.