Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef urged yeshiva students not to cooperate with Military Police pursuing draft evaders, insisting Israel’s survival depends on Torah study, not military might.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Israel’s former Sephardic Chief Rabbi, delivered fiery remarks on Saturday night, declaring that Torah study—not the IDF—is the true source of Israel’s survival and instructing yeshiva students to resist Military Police efforts to arrest haredi draft evaders.
During his weekly lecture, Rabbi Yosef stressed that the IDF’s victories and Israel’s survival rest on the merit of Torah learning:
“Your Torah, yeshiva students, and the heads of households who study in the morning and evening—it is in this merit that even the heretics are victorious.”
He dismissed secular military leadership as incapable without Torah’s protection:
“The Chief of Staff was a heretic. What about Rafael? Ariel Sharon? How were the anti-religious successful? Torah. Only Torah.”
Rabbi Yosef argued that secular politicians fail to recognize this contribution, saying that if they understood, yeshiva students would be rewarded with free apartments and tax exemptions, just as Jewish sages once were.
“Stand Up to the Military Police”
In his most pointed comments, the rabbi directly instructed students to stand their ground against security forces:
“Thank God, they don’t enter the yeshivas. Don’t be afraid. If the Military Police come, stand up to them. It is unacceptable for them to go there. They will not come.”
He credited Torah study with shielding Israel from Houthi missile attacks and strengthening IDF soldiers:
“The entire people of Israel who were saved from the missiles the Houthis are firing—it is in the merit of Torah study. You are giving strength to the soldiers. This is our Torah. Anyone who says otherwise is a heretic.”
Rabbi Yosef’s remarks come amid intensifying national debates over the haredi draft exemption, a fault line in Israeli society between religious and secular communities that has only deepened since October 7.
