The heads of several Chareidi hesder yeshivos have sent a rare letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth, calling for a one-year freeze on the arrests of bnei yeshiva while a long-term draft arrangement is negotiated.

Unlike recent proposals that focused solely on halting arrests, the roshei yeshiva outlined a broader plan that would combine a temporary suspension of arrests with a significant expansion of military and national service opportunities designed for the Chareidi community.

According to the proposal, the government should triple the number of students enrolled in Chareidi hesder yeshivos within one year through dedicated funding, while also greatly expanding Chareidi service tracks in the IDF, police, emergency services, and local security units.

The rabbis also called for accelerated enlistment programs for older Chareidim who did not previously serve, allowing them to join the reserves, as well as a nationwide public campaign encouraging participation in frameworks compatible with the Chareidi way of life.

In their letter, the roshei yeshiva argued that placing sole responsibility for the current draft crisis on Chareidi leadership ignores years of failed efforts by the government, the courts, the IDF, and the defense establishment to create a workable long-term solution.

They warned that the current wave of arrests is undermining efforts to encourage greater Chareidi participation in military service by eroding trust within the community.

“The goal is to create, for the first time, practical conditions that will allow a Chareidi young man who wishes to do so to combine Torah learning with sharing the burden of defending the country—without having to choose between the two,” they wrote.

The rabbis urged the government to use the proposed one-year period to complete comprehensive draft legislation that would both preserve the status of full-time Torah learners and establish a permanent framework for those seeking to combine Torah with military or national service.

Concluding their appeal, they wrote: “At this time, the Jewish people need unity, responsibility, the preservation of the Torah world, and the security of Israel—not another internal rift.”

The proposal comes amid growing tensions over the arrest of yeshiva students who fail to report for military service and follows recent calls from religious Zionist leaders for changes to the current draft policy.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)