This Monday marked 18 years to the founding of the first Haredi combat battalion. Eighteen is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word “Chai,” life, and thus symbolic of this concept. Last night, a special gathering was hosted in honor of this noteworthy event. The affair was attended by Major General Roni Numa, commander of Central Command; Brigadier General Rabbi Eyal Karim, Chief Rabbi of the Military Rabbinate, Rabbi Yaron David, Executive Director of Nahal Haredi Organization, Rabbi David Fuchs, Rabbi Shaul Avdiel, Rabbi Yitzchak Bar-Haim, and veterans and current members of the battalion.
Netzach Yehuda (Nahal Haredi) is the pioneering Haredi battalion in the IDF and promotes the integration of Haredi soldiers into the military. Three years after its formation, the battalion was linked as an infantry unit to the Kfir Brigade; and in the past year led the counterterrorism battle following the recent wave of terror incidents. In the near future, battalion soldiers will return to the Binyamin region, where they were deployed throughout the past year in the framework of counterterrorism missions and engage in noncombat employment operations.
Addressing the audience, Lieutenant Colonel Itamar Deshel said: “When the first Nahal Haredi battalion formed, it numbered all of 31 soldiers. No one could envisage the wonders that we bear witness to today—a victorious combat battalion that unites all Tribes of Israel from across the country and Diaspora. Nahal Haredi is a model and paradigm for many other recruitment projects in the IDF. I am proud to command this battalion which today spearheads counterterrorism within the framework of the Kfir Brigade.”
Rabbi Yitzchak Bar-Haim, a rabbi affiliated with Nahal Haredi Organization expressed: “Today, we bear witness to an inspirational event that both proves and emphasizes our triumphs throughout the year. We strongly believe that our very existence demonstrates to the entire Jewish nation that it is, indeed, possible to serve in the IDF without compromising on a Haredi lifestyle. As we saw manifested this evening, thousands of young men have chosen the Netzach Yehuda track, were integrated into the IDF, and realized their dreams of safeguarding our nation and country without compromising on any of their religious standards. We are an indistinguishable aspect of Israeli society, and we will continue operating and expanding into all realms without surrendering the values that are most important to us.”
Tzviki Katzor, who directs the veterans’ association of Nahal Haredi Organization added: “As a veteran of the battalion, I was deeply moved to see hundreds of veterans and soldiers joining together for this evening. Close to two decades ago, a small unit in the Jordan Valley did the impossible, and today there are over 10,000 veterans of Haredi IDF tracks. We at the veterans’ association work to integrate our veterans back into civilian life in the best possible way. We help veterans obtain grants; sponsor educational courses; and offer vocational counseling and placement. After two decades, we can tell all those skeptics that we are proud of our military service, proud of the fact that we are fully integrated in all military services while remaining steadfast to Torah and mitzvot. Our motto is ‘Integrate without changing,’ and we are the living proof that this is, indeed, achievable.”
Udi Dror who heads the recruitment department in the Ministry of Defense’s Social Defense Branch said: “Today we mark an especially exciting day for us. It is a day representing another landmark in our efforts to recruit Haredi youth into military tracks that produce the next generation of Haredi youth leaders.
“In 1999, the IDF launched an ambitious, significant, and moral social project that, in time, earned the title that it carries until today—‘Nahal Haredi.’ This awesome operation that was conceived by the Ministry of Defense today marks 18 years. During this time, we’ve recruited thousands of youths from the Haredi sector who have attained wonderful feats in the course of their service in the IDF. This is a historic gradual process in the course of which the number of Haredi combat soldiers enlisting in the IDF will continually grow and expand. Simultaneously, it is an essential national social project that has the power to contribute tremendously to Israeli society as a whole and Haredi society in particular.”
Photos credit:IDF Spokesperson
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