A Zionist draft: Reimagining national service

A great deal has changed since David Ben Gurion granted military service exemptions to a mere 400 yeshiva students. Nobody could have predicted that, fast forward 76 years, a decision that sought to preserve Torah study would result in over 60,000 military age young men avoiding service. This decision has split the country ever since, with no true progress having been made. However, after October 7th, the desperate need for manpower was evident, with hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers, many of them with small children, having to drop their ordinary family life and jobs to spend the year risking their lives on the frontline. It is clearer than ever that the Haredi exemption is no longer a viable path, and there is a historic opportunity to have a just draft for all.

Many Haredim fear that serving in the army will make them “secular” and they believe this is why the focus is on them and not on other groups of the population that also do not serve in the army. It is essential not to ignore these concerns and to address them with sensitivity and understanding. From the perspective of the army, they should offer conditions in which the fear of becoming less religious or not having a suitable environment to live an ultra-orthodox life is no longer valid and simply becomes an excuse to evade the draft rather than a genuine fear.

There are a few details that should be considered to demonstrate that the army is willing to create such a space for Haredi soldiers. For example, it was recently decided that the phrase, “May God avenge his blood,” can be added to an IDF gravestone, which is a custom for religious Jews to include when the dead has sacrificed his life for the Jewish people. The fact that this was previously not permitted should not be overlooked; these are the previously mentioned details that make some Haredim believe that the army wants to impose certain values and lifestyles that are not their own.

This is what I believe is the army’s role. As for the government, Haredi leaders, and even the general public it is more complicated. First, the Israeli people must ask themselves: if I am calling for Haredim to be drafted as a ploy simply to force them to live an an un-orthodox lifestyle in the army, am I part of the problem. And Haredim must ask themselves: is it just a fear that my child will become less religious in the army, or is it the fear felt by any parent that their child may not return alive?

We must acknowledge the value of Torah study in the Jewish state, and Haredim must acknowledge that Torah study and army/national service are not mutually exclusive. Unlike Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s recent horrific call to all those who do not even study in a Yeshiva not to enlist, the government must partner with the local Haredi leaders that are willing to compromise and acknowledge that the years of draft exemptions have come to an end. Together they must work to make the Haredi community understand that serving in the first Jewish army in thousands of years is, in fact, the “Jewish” thing to do. The government must also partner with grassroots organizations such as Pardes Project, which aim to integrate Haredim into security and intelligence fields.

Of equal importance is the issue of the approximately two million Arabs living in Israel, most of whose children do not give back to society. What the solution for both the Arab and Haredi groups’ exemptions have in common is the need for a mandatory national or military service. Now more than ever, national service is of ultimate value, with opportunities such as helping rebuild the south and eventually the north among them. These options will also significantly reduce the polarization in Israeli society as well as helping radicalized Arab youth. The possibilities are endless but can only come to play through proper legislation.

Everyone is familiar with the slogan “no taxation without representation.” Citizens should be drafted to a national or military service (analogy to taxation) by the government unless they have elected representatives in that government. The reality is that many Arabs and Haredim have representation with no participation (taxation analogy) whatsoever. It is time for drastic measures; we must change to “no representation without taxation.” That is, all elected MK’s must have participated in military/national service as well as being a requirement for voters. Anyone unwilling to give back to our democracy through service must not have the right to participate in decisions for the wellbeing and future of Israel. It cannot be that while the Knesset debates on Haredi conscription or extending reserve duty, there are elected representatives that work against the interests of the state of Israel. This is not about reducing the power of the right or the left but about preserving Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. I believe that as difficult as it may be, this is the only way forward. It is Zionism that gave birth to the state of Israel and it is Zionism that will preserve our eternal nation. “If you will it, it is no dream.”