Haredi leaders in part opposed conscription out of fears about the influence of Israel’s open and liberal society on their youth. The Yeshiva trained young people on how to remain faithful to their values while serving in the military, he explained.
The students from the Yeshiva currently join the Netzach Yehuda battalion, where they are allowed time to pray and for religious studies. The unit also has no female soldiers, which is an important part of respecting Haredi traditions. The base is strictly kosher.
‘Solution to a problem’
Mr Reiss said he also aimed to offer a viable alternative solution to Haredi men who were not capable of studying the Torah full-time. He estimated about 30 per cent of those registered as students were not actually in the classroom.
“I am trying to give a solution to a problem,” he told The Telegraph ahead of the court ruling.
But he cautioned that the military was not ready to suddenly absorb a large number of ultra-orthodox men and that while some within the Haredi community understood the need for change it would not happen overnight.
“A social process can’t be done fast. There is no solution that you make in a second,” he said.
Baruch Linshe, 23, one of the Yeshiva’s students who will be conscripted within a few months said his parents had been initially reluctant about his decision but now fully supported him.
But he acknowledged that men who joined the military rather than study the Torah full-time could be perceived as lower in the community’s social hierarchy and find it harder to marry.
Fear of going against Haredi norms and traditions was holding his own friends back from joining up, he said.
“My friends are proud of me,” he said. “They would like to join but they won’t because of their families and the community. You have to be brave to do this.”