I’m not Charedi: Here’s why I’m voting for HaTzibbur HaCharedi

I’m worried about where Israel is heading. Tensions between factions seem to be growing higher and higher, and in many ways it seems like we’re on the cusp of a civil (or not so civil) war. We need a more sustainable way forward, both economically and in terms of national security, and I don’t think we can get there by treating a whole community as the enemy.

That’s why I’m voting for HaTzibbur HaCharedi. What draws me to the movement is its emphasis on אחריות, responsibility. We all have a responsibility to the country and to one another, and that means finding ways for more people to participate in building Israel’s future. I don’t agree with every position, and I’m not expecting the movement to solve everything overnight. But I think the approach it represents is important, and worth supporting even if, like me, you’re not Charedi.

1. It’s a movement, not just a party.

Even if HaTzibbur HaCharedi doesn’t cross the electoral threshold, I don’t think a vote for it is wasted. The movement is trying to change the conversation within Charedi society about education, employment, and participation in the country. That work matters regardless of whether it wins a seat in this election. Movements need time to grow, and the fact that people are willing to identify with it publicly can itself be a meaningful step.

2. I agree with the overall direction it’s trying to take.

I want Charedi children to have access to the education, including math and English, that they need to support their families financially when they grow up, with dignity. I want more opportunities for Charedi adults to enter the workforce and contribute economically. I want real pathways into army or national service for Charedim, while ensuring that their religious needs are met. I want Charedi women to have a voice in governmental decisions that affect their lives.

The status quo is unsustainable and will become harder to sustain as the Charedi population grows בלי עין הרע. We need to start finding solutions now, rather than assuming the problem will somehow take care of itself. It’s not just אם לא עכשיו, אימתי? If not now, when? It feels in many ways as though we’re about to plummet off the edge of a cliff.

3. Change from within is better than change imposed from outside.

I understand the anger, particularly among people who have served long stretches of מילואים and feel they’re carrying an unfair share of the burden. I understand why people want the government to force change, but I worry that coercion will create more resistance than progress, especially when people feel their way of life is under attack.

If we keep escalating the conflict between Charedim and the rest of Israeli society through legal coercion, I fear we’re heading toward a lot more violence. The more people feel that their way of life is under attack, the more likely they are to dig in, while the anger of those who feel they’re carrying an unfair burden continues to grow. That’s a dangerous cycle for a country that has to live together long after the next election.

I’d rather see genuine full-time Torah learners supported, while creating practical and respected paths for other Charedim to study, work and serve. That won’t satisfy everyone, and it certainly won’t resolve every disagreement about fairness. But lasting change is more likely when people have a way to participate without feeling forced to choose between their community and their country.

Change is a process, not just a decree, and it finally feels that this important conversation is beginning in earnest.

4. You don’t have to be Charedi to vote Shas. Why should this be different?

Non-Charedim vote for Shas for all sorts of reasons. You don’t have to belong to a community to support a party you believe serves an important purpose. I see HaTzibbur HaCharedi similarly: I’m not voting because I’m Charedi, but because I want to support a movement within Charedi society that’s trying to address questions that affect all of us.

If you’re not Charedi and you’re unsure whether to vote for this movement, I’d suggest asking yourself what kind of change you want to see, and how likely different approaches are to achieve it. You don’t have to agree with everything the movement stands for. For me, the emphasis on אחריות, and the attempt to build greater participation from within the community, are reasons to give it a chance.

Support from outside the community matters, too. The people who want change may be the very people who feel least able to say so openly, and they need to know that others are willing to work with them rather than simply demand that they change.

5. I don’t think it’s a wasted vote, even if they don’t cross the threshold.

There will likely be another election before long, and a decent showing now can give the movement momentum for the next one. It can also affect the public campaign funding available to it in a future election. Even if it doesn’t cross the treshhold, but passes just 1% they should get campaign funding for the next election (in 3 months time?) So a vote can have consequences beyond whether the movement enters the Knesset this time.

Just as importantly, every vote makes it a little easier for the next person to admit they support the movement. When social pressure is part of the problem, making that support visible is part of the solution.

6. I don’t trust the polls to tell us the whole story.

The polls say the movement may not cross the threshold, but how accurately can they measure support for something people are afraid to admit they support?

Dr. Nechumi Yaffe, number three on the party list, has studied the gap between what Charedim want for their own children and what they believe their neighbors want, and the differences are stark. If I remember correctly, 80% of those polled wanted better educational opportunities, but only 20% thought that their neighbors wanted the same thing.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks זצ״ל wrote about the difference between shame cultures and guilt cultures. Judaism is supposed to emphasize moral conscience: asking whether we’re doing what’s right, rather than simply worrying about what others think. Yet social pressure can turn that on its head, leaving people afraid to live according to their convictions because of how their community might react.

In fact, someone Charedi considering voting for the movement told me, “I’m not talking about this with any of my friends though. Maybe one I’ll tell.” There’s no way to know how many people secretly want to vote ז״ך but aren’t telling anyone. Maybe there are even couples who will both secretly vote for HaTzibbur HaCharedi without telling each other!

I’ve also heard numerous reports where people received poll requests and HaTzibbur HaCharedi wasn’t even one of the options. I don’t know whether the polls are wrong, but I think there’s good reason to question how reliable they can be in these circumstances.

7. Mutual responsibility means finding ways to work together.

The principle of כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה means that all Israel is responsible for one another. The word לזה points to responsibility for one another: we can’t ignore the burdens others carry or the ways our choices affect them.

But there’s another idea worth emphasizing: כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה, literally “we are all guarantors with each other,” conveys a sense of mutual dependence. We don’t just have obligations to each other; we need each other. Israel needs Charedim, and Charedim need a functioning Israel.

That means finding ways to share responsibility for our economic and national security future without demanding that everyone give up their identity or commitments. We can disagree about how to get there, but we need to find a way to work together. And this party understands that isolationism and one-sided financial and military dependence is no longer a viable solution.

I’m voting for HaTzibbur HaCharedi because I want to see אחריות become a basis for how we approach these challenges: responsibility for one another, for the country we share, and for the future we’re leaving our children. I don’t agree with every policy of HaTzibbur HaCharedi, but I believe that supporting people who are trying to build a way forward from within their own community is worth doing, and that this is a conversation the rest of us need to encourage and be part of, too.