חנניה ווייסמאן Chananya Weissman

Cognitive Dissonance: Cheering Jailed Soldiers, Mocking Jailed Torah Students…

From Chananya Weissman’s newsletter:

Suicide Mission or Jail

Uncomfortable questions for Jews who support compulsory IDF servitude

Chananya Weissman

Oct 3

 

Here are a couple of articles about four IDF soldiers who were recently jailed for refusing to go on a mission that they believed recklessly endangered their lives for no justifiable reason.

The Week:

The soldiers refused to carry out the orders as they were vulnerable to sniper fire or RPGs from the abandoned but not destroyed buildings in the area, they pointed out. If they were not being given armoured vehicles, they should be allowed to use the cover of darkness instead, they maintained. IDF has had enough experience already in Gaza to know this and there was no immediate reason to force them to choose the risky path instead, they reportedly told KAN News. Dying trying to save a fellow comrade is one thing while becoming cannon fodder is another, they claimed.

The Jerusalem Post:

“During the day, we’re like ducks at a shooting range. It’s easy to be shot by a sniper or a rocket-propelled grenade. This is a real threat to our lives. These are things that have already happened; the IDF should’ve learned this by now.

“I don’t even mind getting killed if I’m saving my friends,” he continued. “We feel like we’ve been spat on in the face.”

“The KAN report interviewed a mother of one of the arrested soldiers, who also said that the military “spat in the faces of the soldiers.”

“The commander of the soldiers’ battalion responded to critics of the order, stating: “I am the battalion commander, making decisions about human lives every minute. I have the discretion regarding the risk to my soldiers in relation to the values ​​of the mission. A red line has been crossed here, of refusing to carry out a very legitimate mission.”

 

Yeah, that’s a milchemes mitzvah, all right…

The average Jew who sides with the soldiers who defied the orders, not the IDF overlords who gave them.

Meanwhile, many of the same people ALSO support jailing people who refuse to join the IDF, where their bodies and souls would be subjugated under these same overlords.

So here’s a question for your confused, brainwashed family and friends:

As Eliyahu Hanavi challenged Jews who worshipped Ba’al, but also believed in Hashem, how long will you keep jumping back and forth between contradictory views? (See Melachim I 18:21.)

You support forcing people to join a secular army where they have to choose between going on a suicide mission for no justifiable reason or getting thrown in jail… but you also find it outrageous when this happens… and you support the imprisoned soldiers over the IDF… yet the people you hate the most are yeshiva students who choose to skip this deranged Molech charade and go to prison before the fact?

How does THAT make sense?

Cognitive dissonance at its very finest.

How is it that IDF soldiers are in jail for refusing to be killed for nothing, and yeshiva students are in jail for refusing to join an army that clearly doesn’t respect them and their lives, but exactly zero IDF brass are in jail for allowing October 7 to happen?

How is it that zero IDF brass are in jail for geting upwards of 20,000 soldiers needlessly, unjustifiably maimed and killed in little Gaza in less than two years, sending so many precious people on insane “missions” such as these?

How many more Jews need to be maimed and killed for dubious reasons, sacrificed on the idolatrous altar of failed ideologies, before there is a sea change?

When will the limbs and lives of your loves ones matter more than doubling down on more of the same and expecting different results?

You want to keep supporting these institutions, and even making a religious ideal out of it, knock yourself out.

But you need to face these questions already.

Record Profits from the Endless Gaza ‘War’ – Chananya Weissman

A critical collection of facts and analysis – please share!

Some excerpts:

Item #1: The rich are getting richer from the “humanitarian aid” program to Gaza. For example, one of Israel’s largest food wholesalers sold 7,000 tons of wheat to the UN in a deal worth over $2 million, to be sent to Gaza.

Meanwhile, ordinary Israelis are watching food prices spiral ever upward as they are driven deeper into poverty. No aid trucks for them.

Item #2: Our BFF’s in the United States have unveiled a massive new plan to feed the poor suffering people in Gaza, because they are so charitable, and have absolutely no agenda or ulterior motive. “We need to do right by Gaza. The people there are suffering,” said Trump.

…

Item #7: “Since the start of the war, Israel has denied entry to only 1.6% of trucks seeking to enter Gaza.”

Item #8: While it was being reported that Israel had cut off aid to Gaza, an eyewitness at the border crossing reported:

I can confirm that there is NO shortage of aid and fuel trucks entering Gaza from Egypt. I personally have never seen the volume of trucks crossing any border or port, with the exception of Rotterdam…[including] 6 brand new Emirati field hospital SUV’s, a Cadillac, a Land Cruiser, and 4 GMC’s.

Also I saw ammonia tankers entering,” adding sarcastically, “and you know that ammonia is for civilian use only, right? Not as a key component of rocket fuel.

By the way, trucks that are marked as containing edibles are not x-rayed.

It was one of the security agents that pointed out the ammonia tankers on the other side of the X-ray area. I asked the agent how do we know what is in those boxes, he just shrugged.

Item #9: “Report: Israel contributed NIS 700m to Gaza aid mechanism it claims not to fund — Prime Minister’s Office denies Kan’s assertion that funds were transferred quietly to prevent public from knowing”

The Israeli government has transferred hundreds of millions of shekels to fund the new humanitarian aid mechanism in the Gaza Strip, Kan news reported Wednesday, contradicting government officials who have insisted that Israel has no part in its funding.

According to the report, the government approved the transfer of NIS 700 million (some $280 million) last month to an unclear source, identified by the government only as “the defense establishment.”

Citing unnamed officials, Kan reported that the money was being used to fund the new aid mechanism, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and that the decision to transfer the funds was made under the radar in an attempt to keep the public from finding out.

Read the rest here…

NEW From Chananya Weissman: Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos

Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos: The Mitzvah to Return to Eretz Yisrael Before Moshiach Comes

Download for free, books available at essentially cost price

Chananya Weissman
Apr 07, 2025

Baruch Hashem, I am delighted to announce that Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos is in print and available in the following ways:

  1. Softcover books are available in Israel directly from me for only 20 shekels each. This is slightly more than the actual cost of printing. Pickup can be made in Jerusalem or Beit Shemesh by appointment.
  2. Hardcover books are available for shipping via Amazon here and Barnes & Noble here. The softcover edition is in the works and should be available shortly as well. Both were listed for the break-even price. I don’t sell Torah.
  3. In that vein, and to enable the widest readership possible, you can download the complete sefer for free as an ePUB (for Kindle and other e-book readers), or as a PDF, using the links below. I highly recommend learning from a physical copy, but here you go:

Continue reading…

From Chananya Weissman, here.

Why and How the IDF Refuses to Learn Lessons (Ever)

Courtesy of Chananya Weissman’s newsletter:

The following is an English translation of a Facebook post by Amit Tzur, a former Givati commander, which was published and brother of Adi Tzur, a Golan fighter from Battalion 51 who was killed on the morning of October 7 defending Kibbutz Kissufim. His original Hebrew post is available here and was republished at his request in the pro-state My Israel group here.

I do hope the statists take the next step and fully wake up. Here is the post:

Who believes the IDF that 7/10 won’t happen again?

I love the IDF.

Not its leadership, not its rotten system.

The fighters. The ones who throw 40 kilos of equipment on their backs and go into battle, because they have no choice.

Those who didn’t wait for orders from the failed command on 7/10 – but stood up alone, took up arms, fought until the last bullet, died with their finger on the trigger.

I love them.

I admire them.

But the truth is that the IDF doesn’t love them back.

Because if it loved them, it would truly care for them.

If it loved them, it wouldn’t send them to die for nothing, time after time, with the same mistakes, with the same negligence, with the same empty words of “we will learn lessons.”

How many of you believe the promise that there won’t be another 7/10?

I don’t believe it.

Since 7/10, I’ve seen the same Commanders, with the same attitudes.

I see the same people who prevented soldiers from firing until 7/10 because “it was not clear whether there was permission,”

still sitting in their positions.

I see the same system that rewards those who lower their heads and survive in it – not those who fight.

I see the same IDF, the same weak command, which preserves culture and does not instill anything, with the same excuses.

And I do not buy this story again.

“We will learn lessons” – words that are poison in the veins.

They told me this when Adi fell.

They told the parents of the soldiers who died yesterday.

They said this after the Tse’elim disaster. After the APC disaster. After every fiasco that led to more blood being shed for nothing.

But these lessons are not really learned – because this entire system is based on self-deception.

• How will you learn lessons if the same people who caused failures are promoted to more senior positions?

• How will it change, if the ones who need to change are exactly those who enjoy the situation as it is?

• How can we believe if even the IDF itself doesn’t really believe in itself?

I write this as someone who paid the heaviest price.

I know how this system works.

I served as a commander in Givati, I commanded dozens of soldiers – without any officer ranks at all.

I went to the 1st Battalion because I wanted to change.

I wanted to be one of the commanders who would fight to make the IDF better.

But there I realized that this system doesn’t want to change.

That it prefers to promote those who know how to play the game, not those who are truly capable of leading.

I left.

Not because I was afraid of the responsibility – but because I knew I had no intention of taking part in this failed experiment.

And then they reprimanded me.

The commander who told me it was irresponsible, that I didn’t understand how things work –

is now the Major General of the Southern Command.

Today he is the man who presided over one of the greatest collapses in Israel’s military history.

And I ask myself – who really should have been reprimanded?

Who really didn’t deserve to command soldiers?

How many more like him are climbing to the top, and not because they are good – but because they know how to survive?

How many more soldiers will die before they realize that the problem is not with the people on the ground, but with those who lead them?

The IDF is not a class. It is not a graduation ceremony. It is not a three-year summer camp.

It is an army. And people die in it.

It is not an exciting training course for parents, it is a place where the lives of soldiers depend on people who are not worthy of leading them.

Every time someone tells you that the IDF will learn lessons, ask yourself:

When was the last time you heard that sentence – and how many soldiers have died since then?

I don’t believe the IDF when it says that 7/10 will not come back.

And you?

I am not against the IDF.

I am against the lie that the IDF tells us, and tells itself.

The problem is not the fighters. Not those who are there in body and soul.

The problem is those who manage them – and the problem is that there is no one to stop them.

What can be changed?

They will tell you “It is impossible to know how a commander will function in the moment of truth”.

I say – that is simply a lie.

Because it is possible to know.

It is possible and necessary to test command under pressure, to test who is worthy of leading and who freezes in the moment of truth.

But this does not happen, because there are those who do not want this to happen.

• There are those who prefer to choose commanders based on obedience and not on ability.

• There are those who want to preserve a system in which those who are good at communications – advance, and those who are really good – burn out along the way.

• There are those who believe that the problem is that we do not have enough soldiers, and not that the soldiers we do have are managed in a way that leads to unnecessary death.

Command must be more mature, stronger, more real.

The command will test him under pressure and will not wait for the moment of truth to reveal that he was not worthy of his position even for a single day.

Because the lives of our soldiers should not be a trial by fire.

Because the phrase “we will learn lessons” is not an excuse when soldiers die.

And these are not magic words that are enough to be said.

The army learns the same lessons too many times and yet it is the organization that most often uses this promiscuous phrase.

I know how it works. I saw it happen. I lost my brother because of it.

I don’t believe the IDF when it says that the 7/10 will not come back.

UPCOMING Sefer ‘Kibbutz Galuyos’ by Rabbi Chananya Weissman: Free Introduction

From Rabbi Chananya Weissman’s renascent newsletter:

Baruch Hashem, I am in the final stages of preparing a new sefer for publication called Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos. It is a sequel to Go Up Like a Wall (available for free download here, hard copies available for pennies here, and I give away hard copies in Israel at no cost; contact me at weissmans@protonmail.com if you would like to help distribute them).

Sefer Kibbutz Galuyos is filled with Torah sources that clearly demonstrate that we are not only permitted to return to Eretz Yisrael in large numbers before Moshiach comes, but it is a mitzvah on every individual to strive for, and it is a fundamental part of the redemption process.

The sefer brings powerful Torah sources that address the arguments/excuses people commonly make, and included a lengthy appendix with previous articles of mine on the subject.

As usual, I will not be monetizing my works of Torah. The digital version of the sefer will be available to the public at no cost, and hard copies will be available online for the minimum cost I can get away with. I will also be printing copies in Israel that I will distribute for free or at cost (those who wish to assist with this should please contact me directly as well).

Here is the introduction to the sefer. Perhaps I’ll share the first chapter as well before publication. Enjoy!

Introduction

The notion of Jews leaving galus, let alone en masse, was not a practical consideration for most of the last two thousand years. It required deep faith that Hashem could bring redemption in the blink of an eye and perform miracles that stretched the limits of one’s imagination. This was true even during fleeting periods of respite from persecution; picking up and moving to Eretz Yisrael was simply not a realistic option for the average Jew.

In the last century that has completely changed. Practically every Jew in the world can realistically live in Eretz Yisrael if he so chooses. The sacrifices and complications that he might face are significant and should not be downplayed, but they pale in comparison to those his ancestors faced.

The realistic possibility of Jews leaving galus, whether individually or en masse, raises serious theological questions. These questions that were once theoretical have become practical, and every Jew who strives to live in accordance with the Torah must face them. If we are not to dismiss the rejuvenation of Jewish life in Israel as a theologically insignificant event — and how can we? — then those who choose to remain in galus — and it IS a choice — must find support from the Torah for their decision.

After all, the Jew who remains in galus continuously davens for Hashem to gather in the exiles, yet consciously forgoes the opportunity to join the millions of Jews who represent the fulfillment of these prayers. One way or another, he needs to justify his decision.

The clever Jewish mind, well aware of the seeming incongruence between his prayers, the unfolding of Jewish history, and his decision to stubbornly remain in galus indefinitely, has come up with endless justifications. The galus Jew can rattle off so many reasons to live anywhere in the world, no matter what, except in Eretz Yisrael, that it gives the impression that Eretz Yisrael is somehow the worst place on earth a Jew could ever be, God forbid.

Many “religious” Jews actually believe this, for a variety of creative reasons, and they claim the Torah squarely supports them.

The more “moderate” galus Jew believes that living in Eretz Yisrael is just another lifestyle choice, nothing more. Needless to say, it doesn’t fit his lifestyle.

The more spiritually inclined galus Jew will acknowledge that it’s “a dream” to live in Eretz Yisrael “someday”, but will insist that it is a practical impossibility for a long list of reasons that he makes little to no effort to overcome. As far as he is concerned, there is certainly no theological imperative to move to Eretz Yisrael, or at least to seriously attempt to overcome the obstacles on his list, and it is therefore Hashem’s decision that he will remain in galus until Moshiach comes or the end of time (whichever comes first), and not his own.

Although the vast majority of Torah scholarship is once again in Eretz Yisrael, where it is meant to be, galus Jews too have rabbis who support their worldview. It is therefore easy for them to dismiss any and all Torah-based arguments against their choice. When push comes to shove, the Jew who has already made up his mind and found a rabbi to lean upon — even if the Jew doesn’t know what this rabbi says about anything else and doesn’t care — will play the “Da’as Torah” card, and that’s the end of it. The “Da’as Torah” card is an impenetrable shield, an automatic victory, or at least a respectable stalemate, in any Torah discussion.

This sort of Jew should stop reading here, for virtually no one can convince him to change his mind. Any attempt at intelligent, productive discussion will quickly turn wearisome and will inevitably stall at the same dead end: “I’m following Da’as Torah”. So what is the point of studying and discussing Torah sources?

The sort of Jew, however, who engages in critical thinking, and in fact believes critical thinking is a religious imperative combined with submission to rabbinic authority to a certain extent, must familiarize himself with the pertinent Torah sources, of which there are many. Decisions on Jewish law, practice, and thought are not to be made based on sound bites, a single cherry-picked source taken out of context, or mindless appeals to authority. Rabbinic authority is not a substitute for our being informed, educated, independently thoughtful people; it is to guide us in cases of doubt.

I believe a study of the pertinent Torah sources leaves no room for doubt.

Barring exceptional circumstances, living in Eretz Yisrael today is not only permitted, but is strongly preferred, a tremendous merit and mitzvah, to the point of being a religious imperative — before Moshiach comes.

Let’s clear our mind of the sound bites and see what the Torah and Chazal actually have to say.

Visit chananyaweissman.com for the mother lode of articles and books.

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