From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Ex-chief rabbi says death toll from rockets would have been higher if ultra-Orthodox not studying in yeshivas
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef claims that Hamas and Hezbollah missiles fired at Israel since October 7 would have killed and wounded many more people if there had not been large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men engaged in full-time Talmud study.
“What would have happened if there had been no yeshiva students? What would have happened if there had been no Torah? How many would have been killed and injured,” he asks. “God protects us in the merit of those who learn Torah.”
Yosef is a longtime opponent of efforts to draft yeshiva students. Last week, his brother, current Chief Rabbi David Yosef, condemned his brother’s rhetoric, stating that members of the ultra-Orthodox community needed “to speak kindly and convey criticism without harsh words and threats like ‘we will leave the country.”
“No,” the chief rabbi stated. “We are not leaving the country. We are here and this is our country.”
Last March, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warned that ultra-Orthodox Jews would leave Israel en masse if the government ends exemptions of mandatory military enlistment enjoyed by the community.
“If they force us to go to the army, we’ll all move abroad,” Yosef said during a weekly lecture. “We’ll buy a ticket… We’ll go there.”
The Times of Israel Community.