Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the influential spiritual leader of the Shas party, made the comments following the deaths of five soldiers from a strictly-Orthodox unit
July 11, 2025 10:09
A revered Charedi rabbi in Israel has seemingly suggested that the deaths of five strictly-Orthodox IDF soldiers was due to a “neglect” of Torah study.
The IDF confirmed on Monday that Staff Sergeant Meir Shimon Amar, 20, Sergeant Moshe Nissim Frech, 20, Staff-Sergeant Noam Aharon Musgadian, 20, Staff-Sergeant Moshe Shmuel Noll, 21, and Sergeant-Major Benyamin Asulin, 28, were killed when an explosive device was detonated near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
All five men were from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, one of the army's first Charedi units, while 12 others were injured while recovering their remains.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the influential spiritual leader of the Shas party, mourned the “dear soldiers” but implied that religious decline was behind their deaths.
In an open letter, the former Sephardic chief rabbi wrote: “We are to blame.
"Weakness in Torah study leads to disasters, such as the terrible tragedy of the soldiers’ deaths in battle.
"To the precious Torah scholars of the yeshivot, may God bless them. I come here with an urgent call to strengthen and be strengthened in Torah study, especially in these days, the end of summer, when there is concern for laxity.
"We received with great sorrow the bad news about the fall of the precious soldiers, may their memory be for a blessing, who gave their lives for the people of Israel.
"Our responsibility as Torah Jews is immeasurable.”
His comments come at a time when Charedi service in the IDF, and the related impact on yeshivot, is particularly politically charged.
Just last month, the Netanyahu coalition narrowly avoided collapse when its Charedi factions, including Shas, threatened to withdraw their support over what they perceived as a lack of proper exemptions for yeshiva students in the legislation regulating the drafting of strictly-Orthodox soldiers.
The law is currently working its way through the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after being introduced in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year ending an eight-decade old conscription exemption for Charedi youth.
Yosef has been a vocal opponent of such conscription, arguing that Torah study is vital to national defence.
He has previously suggested Israel’s air defences succeed in blocking missiles because of the intensity of yehsiva students’ dedication, saying: “Our Torah protects the soldiers.”
He has also called Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Yuli Edelstein “wicked” for insisting on sanctions on those students refusing to serve being included in the bill and stated that, if draft dodgers are arrested, the Charedi community may be forced to leave Israel altogether.
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