The Haredim Are a Threat to Israel’s Future
Military police entered a home in Modi’in last night in order to arrest a haredi Jew who had dodged the draft. When the news spread via the haredi hotline “Tzeva Shahor” (Colour Black), hundreds of haredim swarmed the building in order to hamper efforts to arrest him. Even with the help of federal police who arrived at the scene, the military police failed in their efforts to apprehend the draft dodger and had to negotiate with the haredim to enable them to leave the town. Their safe passage was conditioned upon their agreeing to leave him behind!
Back in the 1st century, the Deputy High Priest, Rabbi Hananya, who lived during the period of the destruction of the Second Temple, warned: “Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, man would swallow his fellow alive” (Pirkei Avot 3:2). When people feel free to do whatever they like, a democracy cannot survive.
It goes without saying that a democracy can only function when the rule of law and order is adhered to and respected, where citizens abide by its dictates even when their own views differ, and where the very principles of democracy are shared. Without accepting the rules of the game, any society is at risk of descending into anarchy.
The need to conscript the haredim takes place in a context where the IDF has warned that it is desperately short of soldiers. The army says it needs a further 17,000 conscripts in order to meet its needs. Because of the lack of citizens willing to undertake their civic duty, reserve soldiers are forced to leave their families and jobs for extended periods of time to meet the shortfall. It cannot continue that way. Why should haredim be let off the hook while others have to spend close to three years of their lives in military service, and that at personal risk, in order to defend their country?
The biggest challenge facing Israel’s government following the elections later this month will be how to make the haredim take on their responsibilities, serve and defend their country. Of course, there are some exceptions who do sign up for military service, but they are a tiny fraction of those who could and should.
There is talk of rescinding payments to their families, withdrawing financial support for their institutions, preventing draft dodgers from going overseas, not issuing them with driving licences and a host of other restrictions. However, their resistance is unlikely to fold and we shall witness, as we have in the past, thousands of haredim taking to the streets and blocking Israel’s principal thoroughfares.
As with the miners’ strike in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980’s, the government will have to stand firm and not bow to pressure. If it does not have the resolve and the guts to do so, it is difficult to see how Israel can have a future. We need a national unity government of Right and Left to take on this challenge rather than continuing to give into Haredi dictates in order to form coalitions and stay in power.