At least 100 Haredi donors and lay leaders in the United States have pledged to withdraw financial support from Israeli yeshivot and other religious institutions that publicly denigrate the Israel Defense Forces.

First reported in the Israeli Haredi press, the pledge, which establishes a “Coalition for Talmud Torah and Security,” underscores divisions between the Israeli and Diaspora Haredi communities surrounding the Israeli military, in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war and amid ongoing tensions in Israeli society surrounding Haredi conscription.

“We cannot in good conscience support institutions whose public posture undermines those charged with defending Jewish life. Accordingly, we will only provide financial support to Torah institutions that do not publicly speak against, protest or delegitimize the IDF while they bear the burden of defending Jewish lives,” the letter reads.

Currently, the public list of signatories sits at just over 100, though the full number has grown closer to 1,000, Rabbi Nechemia Steinberger, senior program officer at Maimonides Fund, who leads the group’s Haredi philanthropy department, told eJewishPhilanthropy.

Steinberger is not directly involved with the pledge, but, as an active player in the world of Haredi philanthropy, said that he is familiar with it. He described the pledge as an “organic” development that “started as a quiet initiative.” The listed donors range from mid-level givers to top donors within the community, he said.

The pledge quickly faced criticism within the Haredi world almost immediately after it was published, resulting in several signers backing out of the initiative, claiming to have been misled about its purpose.

The pledge follows mass protests in Israel in October, sparked by renewed efforts to mandate military conscription for the Haredi community — Israel’s fastest-growing population. Haredi men have historically received religious exemptions while enrolled in full-time Torah study. In June 2024, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled to enforce enlistment and cut state funding to yeshivas whose students ignored draft notices.

In the letter, the coalition of American donors distances itself from current debates surrounding Haredi conscription. “This stance takes no position on the current debate regarding the draft. It addresses only the propriety of public opposition to the IDF during an ongoing defense of Jewish life,” it reads.

The letter cites rising antisemitism and recent deadly attacks on Jewish communities in the diaspora, including the terror attack on a Hanukkah gathering at Australia’s Bondi Beach, as reasons for supporting the Israeli military.

“Developments worldwide indicate that our people’s future is increasingly tied to Eretz Yisrael, and that Jewish safety across the Diaspora depends on the strength of the Jewish state and its
unique capacity to deter and respond to threats beyond its borders,” the letter reads. “We support them and daven for their success, together with the broader security and intelligence apparatus that assists in safeguarding all Jewish life.”

According to Steinberger, the number of American donors who signed the pledge might encourage those within the Israeli Haredi community to moderate their messaging.

“You have quite a few of the top league of donors signing on, and I think the rest of them are mid level donors,” said Steinberger. “The trend going on and the voice going out with this is more important than everything. It’s still early to understand in what way we’re going to see the Haredi mainstream lowering the flames of what’s been going on, because it just came out, but I’m sure many, many people here in Israel who spoke like crazy are going to rethink their strategy.”