Reports that the government may allow certain bnei yeshiva who have not reported for army service to fly abroad for Rosh Hashanah in Uman and other destinations sparked sharp political backlash on Tuesday.

Under Israeli law, those who fail to enlist in the IDF are generally barred from leaving the country.

Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, head of United Torah Judaism, sent a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday, thanking him for the recent government plan to enable Yidden to travel to New York for the Yomim Nora’im. In his letter, he urged the prime minister to “expand the plan” so that even those presently under an exit ban could fly, stressing that such journeys are “a unique spiritual experience, and it is our obligation to enable them the same right granted to others.”

In addition, the government this week earmarked NIS 10 million to help finance aspects of the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman, where tens of thousands gather at the tziyon of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

The idea immediately drew fire from government critics. Minister Ofir Sofer of the Religious Zionist Party blasted the plan as being out of touch: “To focus on those avoiding the draft while tens of thousands of reservists are being called to the front during the Yomim Nora’im is a complete disconnection from reality.”

Avigdor Liberman, head of Yisrael Beytenu, likewise condemned any government funding for Uman flights, claiming that money is being spent on those “trying to avoid service” while soldiers are mobilized in Gaza.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) went further, sending a formal letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara demanding that she block the plan. Lapid accused the government of considering permits for “10,000 healthy individuals who could be contributing to Israeli society and filling the IDF’s manpower needs.”

The controversy comes as the High Court is reviewing related petitions. On Monday, the government supported a lawsuit calling for the removal of National Insurance discounts currently given to yeshiva students who do not serve. The state argued that such benefits were never meant to apply to those receiving exemptions or deferments.

The petition was filed last year by secular activist groups pressing for stricter enforcement against draft exemptions.

The debate underscores one of the most sensitive issues in Israeli society. Successive governments have failed to resolve the long-simmering dispute over a draft law that would secure broad exemptions for the bnei yeshiva. Charedi leaders continue to maintain that forcing yeshiva talmidim into the army represents an assault on bnei torah’s way of life.

At the same time, military officials warn of manpower shortages as fighting intensifies on multiple fronts.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)