The clarion call of ‘Hell no… We won’t go!’ by the anti-Vietnam War protesters of the late 60s and early '70s sounds almost pale in comparison to the vehemence with which Charedi leaders are treating this.
Out of the young Charedim who, in theory, should be eligible for army service, the IDF’s recruitment ask was for only 3,000 recruits. That is the number of Charedim who received draft notices. A modest request by any standard. And yet, only 461 showed up at the recruitment offices.
It is almost certain that among that population of learners, there are easily 3,000 slackers who are LINOs (Learners in Name Only). Surely, they should not have an exemption. Surely, they should be subject to the draft even by Charedi standards.
But the opposition is universal and complete. They are opposed to any of their number serving in the IDF under any circumstances. Their argument is that the mere subjugation of fervently religious Jews to secular commanders places them at serious risk of violating the Torah.
They don’t even trust the Charedi units specifically designed to accommodate even their stringent customs.
To say this attitude is absurd is an understatement, as the many devoutly religious Jews from the Religious Zionist camp that serve have proven over and over again for more than 75 years. But the Charedi leadership does not want to be confused with facts. They claim that devout soldiers will somehow be subjected by secular commanding officers to spurious orders that will violate Halacha. Commanding officers that don’t know the first thing about the Halachos of war or army service in general and care even less.
It goes without saying that Israel is living in a time when physical defense is imperative for its very existence. Any war in that cause is a Milchemes Mitzvah requiring all able bodied Jews to drop what they are doing and fight.
Even as we now have a lull in the war with Hamas (which could flare up as quickly as it stopped), that doesn’t mean we can lay down arms and live in peace and harmony with our Palestinian neighbors. Quite the contrary. The minute that Palestinians (even moderate ones) see a weakness in our resolve to protect ourselves, they will pounce! And come down on us with fire and brimstone that will make October 7th look like a picnic. Charedim are nowhere near ‘off the hook’ any more than any other able-bodied young Israeli.
Charedi youth ought to be able to make their own informed decisions about whether to serve in the IDF or not, as the 461 who showed up apparently did, instead of being indoctrinated with the ‘Yehoreg Ve’al Ya’avor’ approach.
This sentiment was better expressed by Rav Yaakov Medan, Rosh Yeshiva of Har Etzion, who was quoted in the Jerusalem Post:
"Rabbis need to allow their students much more freedom of choice and trust that they can remain Torah-observant even if they serve in the military," Medan said. "Today, there are disputes over who has the final say—the rabbi or the commander. An army cannot function if the commander is not the one making the final decision."
Now, it appears that all hell will break loose. The IDF has announced the following:
"A draft-eligible candidate who does not report for enlistment as per their draft order will be considered absent without leave and will face criminal sanctions,"
Meanwhile, Charedim are pursuing a permanent draft exemption for their community in the Knesset, with a threat by Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri that the Charedi parties will leave the coalition if such legislation is not passed. That would bring down the government, leading to new elections.
This is probably the most counterproductive thing they could do to achieve their goal. The next coalition government will likely be far less sympathetic to their concerns and far more aligned with the IDF’s position. To the cheers of virtually the entire rest of the country (including non-Charedi observant Jews who serve). For the longest time, the rest of Israel has been highly critical of - and upset by the blanket Charedi exemptions to the military. And why shouldn’t they be? Most of the country's youth is exposed to the horrors of the battle field while Charedim get off scot-free.
If things continue in a linear fashion, I do not see a happy ending for anyone. There will be protests and counter-protests that will surely escalate into a level of violence between Charedim and the rest of the Israeli population not yet seen.
All of which could so easily and justifiably be avoided if the Charedi leadership understood the definition of compromise and allow and even encourage the relatively small number of Charedi youth that might be inclined to join the IDF on their own. Which is the right thing to do in any case.
