The first Hesder (Hebrew: arrangement) yeshiva was built in 1953 in Kerem B’Yavneh and finished in 1954 under Rabbi Chaim Goldwicht. [1]These Hesder yeshivas are schools where Talmud lessons are combined with military training.[2] The official start of this combined program was in 1965, but it took three years longer to get the official recognition of the Israeli government. Since then, yeshiva students have joined the Armed Forces. These became even more important during the Six-Day War 1967, after which further Hesder Yeshivot were founded. Prominent among them is the Yeshiva HaKotel next to the Western Wall in Jerusalem and the Yeshiva Har Etzion in the reconquered part of Gush Etzion.[3] Both of the yeshivot have a close connection to the settler movement. The students of the Yeshiva HaKotel were among the first to settle in the Old City of Jerusalem after the Six-Day War. Further, the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Yeshayahu Hadari, was a close friend to one of the spiritual fathers of the settler movement, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. In Gush Etzion, the leader of the later settlers' organization Gush Emunim, Hanan Porat, inspired students of the Hesder yeshiva.[4] [5] The Six-Day War changed military training in the yeshivot as well. Their task was before to defend the area of their yeshiva; they could now enroll in army units and defend their country. To create more Hesder yeshivot, more teachers were needed, and in 1973, a teacher program was established at Har Etzion. The impact of the new schools had a deep impact on Israeli society and state, for which they received the Israel Prize in 1991.[6] The Hesder yeshivot did provide only religious and military training for men, but in 1997, the Garin program was introduced at schools (midrashot) for women as a counterpart. At the beginning, they had three midrashot.[7] Then, in the early 2000s, the Igud, the head organization of the Hesder yeshivot, started a closer cooperation with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). From this point onwards, every year, a new army unit of the IDF gets recruits from the Hesder yeshivot. In 2003, 4000 students who were serving actively (SHARAP) or in unpaid positions (SHALAT) associated with the Hesder yeshivot.[8] While the men were actively recruited for combat, the Be’er program in 2002 recruited the women for the education corps.[9] In 2005, the Disengagement from Gaza caused friction in the IDF, in which the Rabbis of the Hesder yeshivot played a significant role. While some Rabbis were protesting the Disengagement, some went further, declaring religious rulings (piskei Halacha). In those rulings, they ordered their former students, who were currently serving in the IDF, to disobey the military commanders and support the settlers in the Gaza Strip. An IDF report listed 163 cases of insubordination.[10] On the other hand, the Disengagement did not cause a huge decrease in the number of students at the Hesder yeshivot, only being reduced from 1267 to 1108. In 2005, following an initiative by General Elazar Stern, the yeshivot allowed their students to serve in heterogeneous army units. Before, they were serving in homogeneous male and religious units. In the last years, the number of yeshivot and the number of their students have increased. While in 2010, 43 Hesder yeshivot were established, it is estimated that in recent years, 1700 students of the Hesder yeshivot are serving in the IDF. While there was a discussion in 2013 to include Haredi students,[11] the national religious students, who see their religious duty to defend Israel, are dominating the schools. Through those Hesder yeshivot, the influence of national religious soldiers in the army rises,

Abramovich, Shlomo (2020). "The Hesder Yeshivot as Agents of Social Change in Religious Zionism". Israel Studies. 25 (2): 138–158. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.25.2.07. ISSN 1084-9513.
Hirsch-Hoefler, Sivan; Mudde, Cas (2024). The Israeli settler movement: assessing and explaining social movement success (First paperback ed.). Cambridge New York Port Melbourne New Delhi Singapore: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-50346-1.
Rosman-Stollman, Elisheva (2021). For God and Country? Religious Student-Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292758537.
Abramovich, Shlomo (2020). "The Hesder Yeshivot as Agents of Social Change in Religious Zionism". Israel Studies. 25 (2): 138–158. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.25.2.07. ISSN 1084-9513.
Zerṭal, ʿIdit; Eldar, Akiva (2007). Die Herren des Landes: Israel und die Siedlerbewegung seit 1967 (1. Aufl ed.). München: Dt. Verl.-Anst. ISBN 978-3-421-04268-2.
Abramovich, Shlomo (2020). "The Hesder Yeshivot as Agents of Social Change in Religious Zionism". Israel Studies. 25 (2): 138–158. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.25.2.07. ISSN 1084-9513.
Rosman-Stollman, Elisheva (2009). "Women of Valor: The Garin Program and the Israel Defense Forces". Israel Studies. 14 (2): 158–177. ISSN 1084-9513.
Rosman-Stollman, Elisheva (2021). For God and Country? Religious Student-Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292758537.
Rosman-Stollman, Elisheva (2009). "Women of Valor: The Garin Program and the Israel Defense Forces". Israel Studies. 14 (2): 158–177. ISSN 1084-9513.
Hirsch-Hoefler, Sivan; Mudde, Cas (2024). The Israeli settler movement: assessing and explaining social movement success (First paperback ed.). Cambridge New York Port Melbourne New Delhi Singapore: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-50346-1.
Rosman-Stollman, Elisheva (2021). [9780292758537 For God and Country? Religious Student-Soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces]. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-75853-7.  {{cite book}}: Empty citation (help): Check |url= value (help)

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