They claim that they want to draft the ultra-Orthodox in order to save the country, to increase the level of partnership, to enable all to join in bearing the national burden, and to prevent the Chareidi sector from being cut off from Israeli society. However, the truth is that they only want to draft the ultra-Orthodox out of a desire to show them who’s the boss.
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
The feeling has been growing in recent weeks among the Israeli public that the country’s most burning issue is whether to draft the ultra-Orthodox into the military. The left initially employed the mantra: “equal sharing of the burden.” It’s inconceivable, they shouted, that only a portion of the population should be “carrying the stretcher.” However, it has since become quite clear that the Israel Defense Forces simply don’t need the chareidim to serve. Evidence shows that the highest percentage of draft dodging comes, of all places, out of Tel Aviv… In response, the claim has been slightly rephrased: This isn’t just a technical question; it’s a matter of principle. They want the ultra-Orthodox community to be a part of Israeli society. It must play a vital role in forging the national melting pot.
The call for inducting the ultra-Orthodox into the IDF is designed primarily to create headlines for the leaders of the less prominent parties, desperately in need of some populist agenda to advance in the hollow world of Israeli politics. Instead of dealing with matters of genuine national interest, they focus on the chareidim, as if they are the greatest threat to the Jewish nation today.
At first, it was the leader of a disintegrating ruling party in danger of not passing the electoral threshold, searching for some way to restore his political relevance. He established a committee designed with one objective in mind: bombastic headlines based upon the principle of “strike the chareidim and save yourself.” However, this aggressive campaign against the ultra-Orthodox did not produce any tangible benefits for this former IDF chief of staff and minister of defense, who was re-elected to the Knesset by the skin of his teeth – about three thousand votes. Regrettably, those who followed his path have not learned the lesson. A new covenant in Israeli politics has been made between the leaders of two relatively new parties in the Knesset, steadfast in their determination to fight against the chareidim. Such are the actions of Israeli political novices lacking any true agenda.
THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX AREN’T “PROBLEM CHILDREN” IN NEED OF EDUCATION
They claim that they want to draft the ultra-Orthodox in order to save the country / to increase the level of partnership / to enable all to join in bearing the national burden / to prevent the chareidi sector from being cut off from Israeli society. However, the truth is that they only want to draft the ultra-Orthodox out of a desire to show them who’s the boss.
Before last month’s election, a panel discussion was held with leading Israeli politicians at a hi-tech conference. When the topic turned toward the subject of the ultra-Orthodox, the speakers seemed to be talking about ch”v handicapped and disabled children, or at least a community of people with very limited intellect in need of government assistance to integrate into a normal life. Everyone spoke about “integrating the chareidim” and “getting chareidim out of poverty,” relating to the entire ultra-Orthodox sector like a disabled child who doesn’t know what’s good for him. But these politicians do know better (in their estimation), and therefore, they’ll establish committees, make initiatives, and render decisions, helping these primitive souls to act according to the dictates of logic.
At one point during the discussion, the moderator couldn’t restrain himself and directly asked one of the panel members why he speaks about the ultra-Orthodox with such arrogance, as if he really knows what’s in their best interests. In response, the speaker tried to explain how much he appreciates the chareidi community. However, when he was asked about his knowledge of this sector, it turned out that this hi-tech young man from Raanana was totally unfamiliar with the ultra-Orthodox and knew virtually nothing about them. He related to them like a degenerate society that must be cultured and refined; otherwise they’ll never know how “enlightened” people are supposed to behave…
The recent uproar over the chareidim, stemming from this unholy alliance in Israeli politics, reminds us of other periods in Jewish history. For example, the call to bring the ultra-Orthodox into the work force is nothing more than an attempt to “re-educate” them.
Last week, one of Eretz Yisroel’s newest political stars dared to claim that sending the ultra-Orthodox out to work and putting an end to their “cycle of poverty” is his primary mandate, an even holier one than the forced conscription of the chareidim… Why should this young successful politician care whether the ultra-Orthodox community lives in poverty? If this is their choice, why shouldn’t they be allowed to conduct their lives as they wish?
By the way, this is also why an amendment to the Marriage Law, raising the legal age for getting married by one year, was passed six months ago. The stated reason for the legislation: “Concern over the early age of marriage among the ultra-Orthodox community.” One of the Knesset Members who opposed the legislation was Rabbi Nissim Ze’ev. Just a week earlier, I had participated in a wedding he made: the chassan was eighteen years old, the kalla was seventeen, and no one on either side seemed to be concerned. However, the “enlightened” community is deeply troubled that the ultra-Orthodox are marrying off their children as such a young age. So what do they do? They try to force their beliefs upon another sector through legislative enactments.
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Several days ago, I received an e-mail from a currently non-observant Jew, and he expressed his displeasure over the fact that chareidim don’t serve in the army. “It bothers me a great deal,” he wrote to me, “that there’s an entire community that treats the issue of military service as a matter of choice. Why should only one sector bear the national burden?
Of course, the real answer is the partnership of Yisachar and Z’vulun: One sector of the population provides for the country’s security by enlisting in the IDF, while another does the same in the merit of its Torah study.
However, this Jew is not prepared to accept such an argument. Therefore, I replied that according to his logic, the ones who are truly exercising choice regarding whether or not to serve in the army are those who sit in the coffee shops in Tel Aviv, where the percentage of those avoiding the military draft is at its highest.
With regard to the ultra-Orthodox community, I continued in my reply, he has nothing to worry about, because they find their own unique way to contribute to the national good, no less than the young Israeli who serves for just three years. The chareidi sector carries the stretcher on its own – the stretchers of Ezer Mizion, Yad Sarah, Hatzolah, Zaka, and many other marvelous health organizations with tens of thousands of chareidi volunteers working on behalf of the entire Jewish population. But more than carrying the stretcher, there are also hundreds of charitable associations operated by chareidi volunteers. Before each Jewish holiday, we find thousands upon thousands of our fellow Jews facing a most serious financial crisis, and in the merit of these fine non-profit organizations, they are able to celebrate the holiday in a befitting manner.
In the ultra-Orthodox community, I wrote to this Jew, the spirit of volunteerism does not end with three years’ service in the IDF, rather it accompanies them throughout their lives. Therefore, before people start talking about “carrying the stretcher,” it would be appropriate to check which community contributes more to the public at-large…
THE REBBE’S SOLUTION TO END THE CALL FOR DRAFTING YESHIVA STUDENTS
It is impossible to speak about the deepening rift between the secular and the ultra-Orthodox populations in Eretz Yisroel without also referring to the latter’s obligation to change its overall approach and be more connected to the former. It’s true that the chareidi community is usually rather segregated and reserved, quietly conducting their lives according to the traditions of Torah. However, perhaps the recent media campaign against this lifestyle will serve as a warning light for their community leaders to understand at long last the G-dly vision of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, to spread Yiddishkait and Chassidus throughout the Jewish People, regardless of their background or class.
We have previously brought the discussion between the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, and the Gerer Rebbe on the issue of drafting yeshiva students into the IDF. The Rebbe had already foreseen that the day would come when we could no longer avoid the question of military induction. The Rebbe tried to propose an idea that would save the ultra-Orthodox community from charges of draft dodging and provide a real contribution to the People of Israel. This happened when the Gerer Rebbe visited the Rebbe MH”M on the 24th of Iyar, 5737. During their conversation, the Rebbe demanded that kollel students should be sent out to Israeli cities and trained as teachers, thereby bringing real change to many of these places where there were no practicing rabbis.
The Gerer Rebbe: The problem is that it’s difficult to send out an avreich, as how would he deal with his children’s education?
The Rebbe MH”M: For a child to go to cheider, he has to be four years old. Thus, when these kollel students go out – an avreich who studied in yeshiva will need just one year to receive his smicha in “Yoreh Dei’a” (or at least – a year and a half will be sufficient); until the child turns four, when they will start thinking about his education – he will be able to serve as a rav on a moshav, etc.
Another point: Every concept must be according to the ways of nature. And since there’s a great deal of noise, and they’re afraid of yeshiva students being drafted, this is a chance to invalidate the claims, the confusion, etc.
They claim that those who watch on the borders serve for three years and are released afterwards. Thus, when they tell them that the yeshiva trains and sends out teachers who go out to the kibbutzim, settlements, and development towns – this invalidates all the claims and confusion.