1] Am Yisrael is ONE nation. Putting a wedge between Jews is a blemish in the unity of Hashem. אתה אחד ושמך אחד ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ. Hashem's unity is tied up with ours. Thus, we profess our love for ALL Jews who are Halachically considered part of Klal Yisrael. Sinas Chinam is worse than the Hamas or any other external enemy.
2] We affirm the primacy of Limmud HaTorah and Tefillah and the impossibility of sending our boys to a secular army which would for all intents and purposes mean the end of the Olam HaTorah HaCharedi. It is useless to try to change this situation and just causes problems for all sides and engenders hatred and hostility. Our boys and men who are learning Torah are holy members of Hashem's spiritual army and are bringing tremendous good to the world both in gashmiyus and ruchniyus.
3] We daven for and are eternally beholden to and thankful towards our holy brothers who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. They protect US with their lives and limbs. Words cannot express our gratitude.
4] Any Jew who is killed because he is Jewish gets a place in the next world that in unattainable in any other way [Bava Basra 10b]. Thus, any soldier killed by the enemy is a Kadosh and we cherish him and honor his holy memory.
5] Am Yisrael is a collective. We need a lot of people learning Torah with holiness and purity and we also need soldiers who defend us against our enemies. Both are doing the work of Hashem. Let us love and respect each other.
6] We pray that we know longer need an army and that Moshiach come speedily in our days.
Statement of the Moetzes Ktanei HaTorah headed by E.E.
