Unity isn’t a two-way street

There’s a post circulating about how unity is the most important thing for Am Yisrael. It’s getting a lot of attention, probably because it’s full of touchy-feely soundbites calling for people to end the hate. And nobody wants to stand up and disagree with someone calling for an end to hatred.

There is a serious problem with that post.

It pretends that both sides are equal.

The author writes:

“You can’t scream “Torah protects us!” and ignore the mothers of soldiers sitting up all night in fear. And you can’t scream “share the burden!” and spit on people who’ve never missed a Shacharit since age 5.”

She is right, but only because no one should spit on or scream at anyone. The author ignores an important fact: only one group of people routinely spits on another group of people. Only one group of people  takes up valuable police time by insisting that everyone agrees to their narrow sectoral demands. And that’s Haredim.

As much as the Datiim and Hilonim of Israel are exhausted and want Haredim to share the burden, they are not blocking roads, are not spitting on Haredim, and are not physically attacking Haredim in order to force them to serve in the army.

The Druze put Haredim to shame

I am reminded of a shiva visit I paid, a little over a year ago, to the family of Wassim Mahmoud hy”d. Wassim was Druze. He was the sama”p (deputy officer) of my son’s unit, and he was killed along with seven other friends of my son’s when their vehicle was hit by a terrorist RPG.

Wassim’s family welcomed me with tears and hugs. And they said to me, again and again, “We are one people. We are one family. We have to fight until victory.”

Their words struck a bittersweet chord within me. The Druze, for those who don’t know, are a religious group who live across Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. They are not part of the Jewish nation by blood, or by birth, or by religion, or by ethnicity.

Yet the Druze of Israel are extremely loyal to the state, serve in the army, and typically reach high positions in the military. They have chosen to stand with us through our most painful times. They have shed blood to protect us.

This is the pain that I felt when I spoke with Wassim’s family. Here is a group of people that has bonded to us by blood. They give everything so that we can live in peace on the land we were given by God.

Meanwhile, my Haredi brothers and sisters, who share my blood, my religion, my destiny, my fate, and my beliefs, scream in the public squares that they are not part of my nation.

Haredim are walking away from the nation of Israel

Haredim, as a group, have refused to be part of the Jewish nation. (Individuals within the Haredi sector have acknowledged their responsibility, mostly serving in one of the three special Haredi units: Netzah Yehuda, Tzanhanim Haredim, and Hashmonaim. However, the mass of Haredim have not. Haredi political and rabbinic leaders most certainly have not. In the last year, 24,000 Haredim were called up, and only 1,212 came.)

Make no mistake: this is what it means to refuse to serve at this time. It doesn’t matter if you refuse to serve because you are learning Torah full-time, or refuse to serve because you are wasting your time smoking on the streets but you wear a black hat while you do so, or if you refuse to serve because you just can’t be bothered. If you refuse to serve at a time when your nation is fighting an existential war, you are declaring that you are not part of Am Yisrael.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks tzt”l spoke often about the differences between rights and responsibilities. He explained that Judaism does not have a concept of rights; it has a concept of responsibilities. When everyone carries out their responsibility, then everyone also enjoys certain rights. As he wrote in “The Home We Build Together,” p. 133:

“The Bible is more concerned with cultivating habits of responsibility than merely prescribing rights. Rights are legislated by states. Responsibility is created by society. You cannot have one with the other. A system of rights must be accompanied by a culture of responsibility.”

Haredim in Israel refuse any responsibility, even as they demand rights. But there is never a “right” to unity. How do you unite with a group of people that refuses to be part of your nation?

The chutzpah of not only walking away from Am Yisrael, but demanding love and acceptance (not to mention financial support) while you do so, is breath-taking. Unless we endorse their decision, they will excoriate us as haters, modern-day Temple-destroyers who refuse to promote achdut.

“So for the people who think that the most important thing right now is to get more charedi boys into the army – it is not! If it is done through controversy and hate – you are dooming our soldiers, charedi, dati, secular to you know what!”

In this terrible accusation, the author accuses anyone who supports pressuring Haredi conscription of causing the deaths of more soldiers.

It’s cruel.

And it’s wrong.

Because getting Haredi boys into the army right now is the one thing that can save our nation. It is the one thing that will keep Haredim as part of Am Yisrael. They have already opened the door to leave the nation and walked through it. The only reason why it hasn’t slammed shut behind them is because the rest of us are still holding it open. All our entreaties, shouts, and arguments for them to join the army is for our sake — the sake of Am Yisrael.

Stop walking away. Don’t tear up your membership of Am Yisrael. History has shown what happens to Jews who refuse to stand with the nation. They become irrelevant.

Superficial unity is not the cure for deep division

The author of that emotional call for achdut included this argument:

“Our sages in the Talmud teach that in the days of King David, his soldiers were all Torah scholars, but they fell like flies in battle.
Why?
Because the people weren’t united.
But in the days of Achav, the nation worshipped idols — and still won their wars.
Why?
Because they were united.”

This is a red herring. The kingdom of Achav (Ahab) was founded on rejectionism. It was made up of eight tribes who split away from the kingdom of Yehuda because they didn’t want to pay (extremely high) taxes. Those eight tribes were taken into exile almost 150 years before the two tribes of the kingdom of Yehuda, because they walked away from the nation, even while they still insisted that they were part of it.

Superficial unity is not the cure for deep division.

The Haredi call for unity is like the Hamas call for peace (although Haredim are not Hamas and are not like Hamas): it’s really a call to submit.

We need unity.

Without unity, our nation will fall.

That unity will only come when Haredim turn around and stand with their nation, instead of turning their backs on it.