NOTE: former catholic who gave up his religion for Lent is writing a diary on religion and politics in Israel, so reader beware.
I’ve been reading a series of articles on strains within Israeli society and government with regards to the role of ultra orthodox Jews during the war with Hamas. Orthodox Jews in Israel — called the Haredi — are exempt from the military draft. This was part of a deal from the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948. But this and other privileges afforded to the Haredi have created a push by other secular Israelis to end the military exemption, and the potential end of the military exemption has met resistance from Netanyahu’s political allies — Shas and United Torah Jerusalem (UTJ). Minister without portfolio Benny Gantz is pushing for an end to the military exemption for the Haredi, and if he succeeds, this could end the political coalition that supports Netanyahu, assuming Shas and UTJ quit the government and bring about a new election.
When modern Israel came into being in 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion granted an exemption to the military draft to the Haredi. This wasn’t a big deal at the time because the number of Haredi men who could be drafted was maybe around 400. It’s not entirely clear to me, but I suspect Ben-Gurion did this because some prominent Haredi rabbis were against the concept of the state of Israel, at least one created by politics. The Haredi believe that the Messiah was going to create the state of Israel, and the Messiah has not arrived yet.
However, not all the Haredi rabbis were against the creation of the state of Israel. From what I gather, those Haredi rabbis who survived pograms and the Holocaust decided that Jews needed a Jewish state in order to protect their fellow Jews. In other words, pragmatism against genocide won out.
And what did the Haredi do for the state of Israel? They prayed. And I am not kidding. Most of the Haredi just attend yeshivas to study the Torah and pray. They do not work. The Haredi receive government subsidies instead.
But things didn’t stay static with regards to the Haredi population. Looks like the Haredi do not believe in birth control:
None of this would matter if the Haredim were still the same tiny segment of society they were in 1948. Today, however, ultra-Orthodox women have 6.5 children on average, compared with 2.5 among other Jewish Israeli women, and 1 in 4 young children are ultra-Orthodox.
Today, the Haredi make up approximately 14% of the Israeli population. Therefore, there is not an inconsequential number of men who have never served in the Israeli military. And as you can imagine, this has engendered some resentment and calls for change among secular Jews who have been drafted.
Most Israelis agree that the situation is untenable.
In a February poll conducted by the IDI, shared exclusively with CNN, 64% of Israeli respondents and 70% of Jewish Israeli respondents said that the Haredi exemption “should be changed.” The pollsters spoke with Israeli adults – 600 in Hebrew and 150 in Arabic.
And there is also this:
Seven in 10 Israeli Jews oppose the blanket exemption, meaning another exemption might jeopardize Netanyahu’s government. Frustration is also rising over plans to raise the military service of men to three years and to double the duty of reservists to 42 days a year during emergencies.
And the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that defense minister did not have the authority to grant a miliary draft exemption to the Haredi. The Knesset was supposed to fix this problem, but the rise of Shas and UTJ in the Knesset made sure that there was no fix. In fact, a law was passed enshring the Haredi’s military exemption. If I have read this correctly, the Supreme Court ruled again that the Haredi don’t get an exemption, and the court gave the government until the end of 2024 to fix this same problem.
Now, not all Haredi have avoided serving in the military. Some have joined. But most do not want to serve because Haredi are afraid that being exposed to secular Jews will end their way of life.
No, I am not making that shit up either.
This is from Nechemia Steinberger, a Haredi rabbi who has served in the Israeli military:
For most Israelis, he explained, military service is an ironclad tradition, instilled from a young age. And service – whether on the front lines, or in one of the many other departments – is a pathway to job training and a career.
“For Haredim, it’s not like that,” he said. “The educational system supports that we dream that every child by us is going to grow up to be a Torah scholar. That’s the dream.”
The concern among many Haredim, he explained, is that the military is not built to accommodate people with the social and religious values of the ultra-Orthodox – and that widespread conscription would strip the Haredi of their core identity.
“You serve in a mixed unit with non-Haredim, and you’re exposed to the world outside. Eventually you become part of it and you decide not to be part of the Haredi community or not be religious at all.”
Imagine that. An insular community of believers wants to dominate the politics of the government, but no way do they want to get cooties from contamination with others. And yes, you read that correctly. The Haredi don’t teach their kids to hold jobs outside of studying the Torah.
Anyway, from what I have read there are protests by the Haredi against serving in the miliary, and now there are counter protests from other Israelis calling for the end of the exemption for the Haredi. It appears that Benny Gantz wants to end the exemption, and will this bring down the government? We have to wait and see.
NOTE: I was mistaken in saying that Benny Gantz is defense minister. He is a minister without portfolio. Sorry about that one folks.