In the five years since this blog was started I’ve refrained from politics entirely, but I think I’m going to chime in on the IDF beard controversy.

It’s been a long time since I was a rank-and-file soldier, but I was just discharged from reserve duty a few years ago, so I think most of what I observed is relevant.

Reserve soldiers can show up as scruffy as they like, and nobody will say a word. Enlisted soldiers, on the other hand, are expected to shave regularly. I was very occasionally questioned by officers about my beard, but all I had to do was to pull out my soldier’s ID card and show them that I sported a beard when I first got my mug shot upon enlisting.

Having a beard definitely sets you aside from the other soldiers. You could say there are three types of soldiers in the IDF: secular, religious and what they called backed then beinishim, which is an acronym for “yeshiva students.” The bearded soldiers were either from hardcore religious Zionist yeshivas, like Merkaz HaRav, or baalei tshuva.

Having a beard definitely sends a message. And it could be that certain elements at the top echelons of the IDF don’t like it. According to a report on Walla, the IDF wants to set a ceiling of 15% bearded soldiers. Officials are denying this policy.

At a recent gathering of prominent religious Zionist rabbis Rabbi Dov Lior said there is a struggle over the identity of the state, “a war against Hashem and his messengers.”

MK Menachem Eliezer Moses said that three months ago, during a session of the Foreign Affairs Affairs & Defense Committee, he spoke with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on this very matter, claiming Ya’alon promised him that anyone with a beard for religious reasons will be permitted to continue to wear a beard. Moses added that although the new regulation will impact religious Zionist soldiers more than chareidi soldiers, he objects to taking responsibility for the issue from the IDF Rabbinate and placing it in the hands of the adjutancy.

Walla News reports that the controversy was originally about secular soldiers who wanted to grow a beard, but as a result of the media frenzy surrounding the issue, the focus has shifted exclusively to religious soldiers. These non-observant soldiers said they are not ready to concede defeat, but plan to use social media to gain support for the right to sport a beard simply because they wish to, not out of religious conviction.