Senior Religious Zionist Rabbi Eli Sadan attacks IDF, says army is forcing soldiers to abandon religion.

A senior Religious Zionist rabbi who founded the first-ever pre-military preparatory program launched a scathing attack on the IDF, contending that the army was forcing religious officers to choose between an army career and observing Jewish law.

In a wide-ranging speech, Eli pre-military academy head Rabbi Eli Sadan called the IDF’s latest Joint Service Order “a destruction decree” whose purpose was to advance pluralist values at the expense of the IDF’s readiness. Religious Zionist rabbis have been opposing the Joint Service Order that regulates relations between men and woman because it forces a religious officer to command units compromised of men and women.

“What the Joint Service Order says is that from the minute you go to IDF Officer School, you become IDF property and the IDF’s Manpower Head can decide if you can keep halakha (Jewish law ),” Sadan told his students. “If you don’t want to command a mixed unit of men and women for fear of violating Jewish laws, the Manpower Head will ‘consider’ your request.”

Sadan also addressed reports earlier this week that IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkott ignored his appeals to change the Joint Service Order. “The army decides that it is suddenly extremely important for a male soldier to command female soldiers,” he said.” All the rabbis and I explained to the chief of staff and to the forum of senior army officers that for the 70 years since the establishment of the State of Israel there was no law obligating a religious person to violate religious law.”