Ben-Gurion Expressed Regret for Army Exemptions for Yeshiva Students

Hiddush publishes a letter from Israel's first prime minister suggesting regret for the army exemption granted to men in yeshivot.

05/09/2011 10:56

Tags: Ben-Gurion · Army · Yeshiva students · Army exemption

Letter from Ben-Gurion to Eshkol about yeshiva army exemptions

In the early 1960s, David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, wrote a letter suggesting regret for the agreement allowing a small number of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students exemptions from mandatory military service. Hiddush has published this letter on facebook, documenting the 1963 correspondence between Ben Gurion and Levi Eshkol, then prime minister, expressing disappointment for the 1949 agreement. Journalist and author Shlomo Nakdimon approached the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute in Sde Boker with the document, affirming that the letter in question is in fact original.

Ben-Gurion writes: "Perhaps there is reason to revisit the question of men in yeshivas, if they actually do need to be exempt from their army obligation." The haredi establishment rejected service in small numbers in 1949, allowing a small number from their community to study full-time in yeshiva. The agreement was established based on the assumption that students of high level yeshivot would be exempt from the military as long as they committed themselves to full-time Torah learning and in no other business, even other educational or voluntary pursuits. These yeshiva students embraced the idea that "His Torah is his art". In 1948, there were 400 such students learning in yeshivot.

"I released these men from their obligation to serve the army. Although I made these decision when the numbers were small, but they continue to multiply, and in their unruliness, they are a danger to the honor of the country."

In his letter to Eshkol, Ben-Gurion writes "The wild behavior of these extremists has crossed every boundary and I believe that I am in part responsible. I released these men from their obligation to serve the army. Although I made these decision when the numbers were small, but they continue to multiply, and in their unruliness, they are a danger to the honor of the country."

Ben-Gurion continues: "I recommend that every boy in yeshiva age 18 and over that is caught in these communities breaking the law, throwing stones, disturbing the peace or committing other acts of violence and bullying, draft them immediately into the military and have them serve just as all other young people do--30 months--not in a religious position, but as a regular soldier. There might be reason to investigate the question of all yeshiva students, if they truly need exemptions from military service. But law breakers certainly do not deserve this questionable privilege."

Click here to see the letter in its entirety

See Haaretz's coverage of Hiddush's publication