Hagaon Harav Moshe Maya shlita Presses Shas To Oppose Yeshiva Conscription Quotas

Hagaon Harav Moshe Maya shlita, a senior member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, is calling for the Moetzet to convene and adopt a clear stance rejecting any draft law that would impose enlistment quotas on yeshiva students, according to a Motzoei Shabbos report from I24 Charedi news reporter Ari Kalman.

Harav Maya plans to argue that drafting yeshiva students is against halacha, and he will urge Shas representatives not to support any legislation that could lead to their conscription.

Kalman cited analysts as saying that the Moetzet has yet to meet on the matter, possibly to avoid limiting Shas leader R. Aryeh Deri as he explores compromises on proposals with higher recruitment goals.

Last month, Harav Maya expressed a shift in his stance on conscription of non-Yeshiva students. Speaking on Radio Kol Chai, the Rav said that “if there is an arrangement whereby someone who enlists would not come to desecrate Shabbos and would preserve his kedushah and purity, why shouldn’t he enlist?” He cautioned, however, that any assurances must be binding, warning that without “an official IDF General Staff order,” such promises are “worthless.”