Bridging the Gap: The Importance of Haredi Integration
They Tried to Hide It.
They told us about a “prayer rally,” a show of solidarity “for the Torah.”
They tried to tell us it was against “the judicial system” and the Attorney General.
Well, they tried.
But when the dust settled, and the streets of Jerusalem were revealed under the piles of trash left behind by the demonstrators, we saw once again the same dismal picture we’ve been facing for years.
The massive ultra-Orthodox demonstration in Jerusalem yesterday was nothing less than a siege on Israel’s capital—an agonized gevalt cry from a public dancing on the blood of its fighting brothers, ruled by thuggish, immoral, and greedy political fixers.
The bottles thrown at Channel 12 reporter Inbar Twizer, the stones hurled at the Kan 11 news crew (including the network’s Jerusalem correspondent, Haim Goldich, who discovered that his hundreds of reserve days and his injury in battle in Lebanon were not enough to spare him from the demonstrators’ rage), and the injury to the channel’s cameraman, Mati Stein—all were just a drop in a sea of alienation, a display of hostility toward Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
Israeli flags burned, police officers and random passersby were called “Nazis,” and a giant banner reading “Israel is an enemy state” was raised high. It was a spectacle that exposed, more than anything, the chasm between the Zionist and the ultra-Orthodox societies in Israel.
The vile and deceitful claim that the State of Israel has “declared war on the world of Torah” is nothing less than spitting into the well from which the ultra-Orthodox public drinks—and an insult to human intelligence. The ingratitude, arrogance, and anti-Jewish, anti-moral movement of such a large community stand as a tragic testament to a society dancing on the blood of its brothers—all the way to the abyss.
And they lie.
Never have there been so many yeshivot in the Land of Israel.
Never have there been so many Torah scholars in the Jewish homeland.
Never have yeshiva students received such large budgets and financial support.
And thanks to whom? The Jewish state. A state that not only funds much of their livelihood but also protects them—without them having to look over their shoulders or fear antisemitic evil. The State of Israel is a paradise for Torah learners, and moreover, it does not ask them to give up their ascetic lifestyle or their studies.
If Saadia Deri, a kollel Avrech from the Yeshiva in Jaffa, was able to spend endless hours learning Torah on the borders of Lebanon and Gaza—until he fell in battle—then so can they.
If Rabbi Avi Goldberg was able to combine deep Torah learning with a life of education—until he fell in battle in Lebanon—then so can they.
If dozens of Torah scholars such as Rabbi Elisha Lewinshtern, Rabbi Aviram Chariv, or Yonah Efraim Feldbaum—who was raised in a Haredi family and fell this week in Gaza—if they could combine Torah and Military Service, then so can the Haredi public.
It is clear that their struggle is not for the sake of the Torah, but for their leadership and politicians to preserve their insular identity and isolated way of life — a lifestyle marked by ingratitude and indifference, one that undermines the very existence of Israel itself.
The complicity of parts of the Zionist sector—the rabbis of the national-religious yeshivot, the so-called Zionist politicians (some of whom even attended the rally, such as Avi Maoz), and the media outlets that desperately tried to amplify a lie they themselves did not believe—is a pitiful testament to the moral level of those willing to preserve the coalition at any cost.
The responsibility for change lies first and foremost with the ultra-Orthodox society itself—with those who know and remain silent. The first buds of integration already exist—they just need to be embraced.
The Hashmonaim Haredi Battalion and the courageous work of Rabbi David Leibel, who fights tirelessly to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into Israeli society, are just part of the initiatives and platforms that allow the Haredi community to truly take part—as Haredim—in the Jewish state.
The continued war of the ultra-Orthodox sector against the State of Israel is destined to end in tragedy for everyone. We do not have the privilege of tolerating or accepting such a disgraceful reality.
This is the time to wake up and act.
Now.
And after all this being said. It is important for me to also look at the bright side. After all, the Haredis are our brother and are an important and impactful part of the Jewish nation.
The optimistic angle, ironically, comes from what wasn’t there.
The protest leaders’ declaration of “a million Haredim in Jerusalem” was almost comical — out of roughly 1.3 million Haredim in Israel, nearly half, the women, were almost entirely excluded from the event.
Media estimates put attendance at around 200,000–300,000, meaning that an equal number of Haredi men chose not to attend.
Why? Was it because they don’t believe in the protest’s cause? Was it Because some quietly support the IDF or the state itself? Or perhaps because they were simply at work, participating in Israel’s growing, modern economy?
I choose to focus on this “missing” crowd and draw encouragement from it.
Hundreds of thousands of Haredi men who did not join the protest may represent a quiet but meaningful shift — one of integration, not isolation.
Many Haredim today send their children to state-recognized schools, enter the labor market, and yes, even enlist — slowly but surely — in the army of the Jewish state.
They are the hope, the light, and the living proof that a shared and better future in our small Jewish homeland is still possible.
