Reservist groups lobby global donors against funding yeshivas that shun military serv

Ahead of a donor gathering for a major ultra-Orthodox fundraising initiative, Israeli reserve duty groups have appealed to international benefactors to direct their contributions toward programs that combine military service and Torah study rather than supporting men who avoid enlistment.

The appeal came in a letter sent in English by the Forum for Partnership in Service — a group of religious women advocating enlistment — and the National Religious Reservists Forum. The letter was addressed to donors planning to attend an event for Keren Olam HaTorah, or the World Torah Fund, which supports yeshivas.

A delegation of senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis during a fundraising tour in the United States

(Photo: Eli Kubin)

“We appeal to you as important supporters of the people of Israel in this challenging time,” the letter read. “Just this week, 60,000 reservists were mobilized for the next stage of the war. Many of them are Torah scholars, older men, fathers with wives and children. Their families are collapsing under emotional and financial pressure.”

The writers asked donors not to overlook the burden borne by reservists. “How can the Torah world stand by while their brothers are drowning? We know it is possible both to serve in the army and to live a Torah life. Instead of spending money to prevent young men from serving, let us invest in ways to enable them to continue Torah study during military service. Please, do not abandon the people of Israel in its most difficult hour.”

The ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade operating in Gaza

(Video: IDF)

The World Torah Fund was created last year after the High Court of Justice ordered an end to state funding for yeshiva students eligible for conscription who refuse to enlist. The decision sharply reduced seminary budgets.

To fill the gap, leading rabbis — including Rabbi Dov Landau, the senior Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox leader — began traveling abroad to meet with wealthy Jewish donors. Their campaign has raised hundreds of millions of shekels to keep yeshivas operating.