Fallen Soldier’s Brother: The Army Does Not Respect Chareidim

By Hamodia Staff

The family of Yisrael Yudkin, Hy”d, a chareidi soldier who fell in Gaza, is set to visit his kever this week at the cemetery on Mount Herzl in Yerushalayim to erect his matzeivah, to mark the sheloshim.

Amidst their grief, the bereaved family has appealed to the Defense Ministry, as Yisrael’s brother Dovi, a company commander with 93 fighters under his command, revealed that the Ministry has refused the family’s request to inscribe the words Hashem yikom damo (Hashem shall revenge his blood) on the matzeivah.

“It greatly disturbs us as a family that on Thursday, we must submit the wording of the matzeivah to the Ministry of Defense and my mother has asked that the words ‘Hashem yikom damo’ be written on his matzeivah,” Dovi stated in an interview with Channel 14 on Sunday.

“This is the wording that chareidi people write on the matzeivos [of those killed in battle]. The Ministry of Defense does not approve the use of the word ‘Hashem’ nor the root of the word ‘Yikom,’ because revenge is forbidden, so the Ministry of Defense has not approved this.”

He continued: “If you don’t respect the fallen chareidi soldiers, then how do you want me to stay in the army? If you don’t respect my brother who fell during his service, why should I respect you at all?

“We’re talking about drafting, we’re talking about chareidim. The army is not built to take in chareidim, it has no infrastructure for that. I’m not talking about Torah shiurim, about mikvaos, about gender separation, I’m talking about weapons, about boots.”

“I’m talking about a chareidi soldier who was killed, the family wants it to be written, ‘Hashem yikom damo,’ on the matzeivah. It’s quite simple, it’s a simple request from my parents, and that’s what will show him respect. He grew up as a chareidi , he was killed in the chareidi regiment. They want these words to be written on the matzeivah, so they come to the Ministry of Defense but they say, ‘No we are not approving these words,'” Dovi expressed painfully.

Captain Yisrael Yudkin from Kfar Chabad, a 22-year-old combat soldier in the Kfir Brigade, was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip about six weeks ago.