“The military police do not enter yeshivas, don’t be afraid,” Yosef said. “If the military police come—stand up to them. Sit, study diligently, but with even greater devotion.” He did not clarify what he meant by “stand up to them.”
Yosef, who has also threatened that yeshiva students would leave the country if forced to enlist, recounted in May that he personally tore up a draft notice. “On Thursday, someone brought me a draft order and an arrest warrant. I took it and tore it up,” he told his audience.
In that same lecture, Yosef also lashed out at the political right. “What is this? A Torah scholar! For 77 years, the state has existed, and no one imagined such a thing. Right, right, right—crazy people. We must pray to God that He brings all of Israel back to repentance, that they leave us alone, the Torah students, the scholars, so that we can study in peace and safety.”