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| Charedi and religious Zionist soldiers learning Torah together (Arutz Sheva) |
I am angry at the Charedi world for insisting on perfection:
refusing to compromise even one iota on its current paradigm of religious life.
What it seems not to understand is that the perfect is the enemy of the
good. Compromise is not a dirty word.
I believe this is at the heart of the strident resistance to
changes in the Charedi world that would benefit them as well as Israeli society
as a whole. Two issues in particular are driving the growing divide between
Charedim and Religious Zionist and, even more broadly, between Charedim and
traditional and secular Israelis: military service and secular education.
The Charedi leadership’s refusal to allow its young men to
serve in the IDF has existed for years, but October 7 dramatically intensified
the consequences. An already understaffed IDF has had to extend reserve duty to
extraordinary lengths, placing enormous unprecedented pressure on those who
serve and their families.
The government has been withholding financial support from
yeshivas whose students do not register for the draft - and arresting many of
those draft dodgers. Meanwhile, the more militant ‘Jerusalem Faction’ has
repeatedly staged massive demonstrations that have disrupted daily life - some
of which have become violent.
I understand the Charedi concern that military service can
undermine religious commitment. But I do not believe that serving in the army
and being a devoted Torah Jew are inherently contradictory. That is precisely
the philosophy behind the Religious Zionist Hesder Yeshiva system.
That being said, there are legitimate concerns about
religious dropouts, which should not be dismissed…
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