Former IDF chief of staff and current politician Gadi Eisenkot told a Haredi website that David Ben-Gurion did not agree to draft yeshiva students even during the War of Independence, and described himself as a 'Ben-Gurionist.' The statement adds a historical dimension to the ongoing debate over military conscription of Haredi yeshiva students.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and current politician, told a Haredi website that Israel's founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion opposed drafting yeshiva students even during the 1948 War of Independence. Eisenkot described himself as a 'Ben-Gurionist,' implying that the current push for Haredi conscription deviates from Ben-Gurion's own policy.
As The Zioneer reported on July 7, Eisenkot has previously stated that only the Yashar party can form a 'Zionist conscription government.' The broader debate over Haredi military service has intensified recently, with hesder yeshiva heads and pre-military academy rabbis urging students to avoid mixed-gender units and certain combat roles. Eisenkot's latest remarks frame the issue in historical terms, drawing on Ben-Gurion's wartime decisions to argue against blanket conscription of yeshiva students.
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