RAV KOOK ON Ki Teitzei Part 3: Drafting Yeshiva Students

“When you wage war against your enemies...” (Deut. 21:10) Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa and son of the Rav HaNazir, told the story of his part in defending Jerusalem during the 1948 War of Independence: During the winter of 5708 (1947-1948), I was one of the younger students at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva. I was also a member of the Haganah, the pre-state Jewish defense organization. This was during the period of Arab rioting and attacks that erupted following the United Nations’ vote on the 29th of November, 1947, to establish a Jewish state.