An Appalling Indifference to Israeli Suffering

Rav David Stav 

There has been intense anger expressed by many in Israel over a bill now pending in the Knesset that was ostensibly agreed to by both the Netanyahu government and Charedi leadership. The bill would - for the first time - draft Charedim into the IDF.

Under the proposal, Charedim not studying Torah full time in a Yeshiva or Kollel would be subject to the draft, with rabbinic approval. It was widely understood that enough Charedim fall into this category to significantly alleviate the IDF’s manpower shortage, thereby reducing the unbearably long and dangerous tours of duty now imposed on secular and religious-Zionist soldiers—a burden created largely by the blanket exemption of the Charedi community.

Although this would mean that only about 10% of Charedim would actually be drafted, I supported the compromise—not because it was fair, but because it was pragmatic.

 But a truly equitable law would require service from all citizens, exempting only the most elite Torahscholars. (What percentage that would be and how that would be measured is beyond the scope of this post.) But that was never politically realistic. This bill at least appeared to solve the manpower crisis.

It now seems that even this modest reform is illusory. One of the Charedi leaders who approved the deal has openly stated that the law is merely a ‘show’. And that no Charedi will ever be forced to serve if he does not wish to.

Prime Minister Netanyahu insists otherwise, but his motives are transparent. He needs the Charedi parties to remain in the coalition. If they leave, his government falls. The bill is therefore being sold as a victory for the IDF, even as evidence mounts that little will change.

The result is the perpetuation of a devastating status quo: endless reserve duty rotations that – except for Charedim - will endanger lives, destroy livelihoods, fracture families, and leave untold numbers of soldiers struggling with PTSD—sometimes so severe that they are unable to work or function normally. The human cost cannot be overstated.

It is appalling to me that the Charedi leadership never addresses this. At least not publicly. How can they ignore the ongoing tragedy affecting so many people who are sacrificing so much for their people?

Charedi leaders justify their opposition by claiming that army service leads to irreligiosity, asserting that the IDF is fundamentally a secularizing institution designed to strip religious Jews of observance. Anecdotal claims - such as one repeated by Rav Aharon Feldman, that ‘about half’ of Charedim who enlist become irreligious—are treated as proof...

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