After weeks of protests against the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to draft haredi men into the IDF, leading haredi rabbis are threatening to unite and order their students to refuse to cooperate with the IDF when drafting begins Sunday.
This issue and the intense opposition could take down Israel’s already fragile coalition government. Whatever happens next, it is clear that this issue will likely continue to exacerbate deep divides in Israeli society. This is especially the case because Israel is fighting a war on multiple fronts and those who do or have served in the IDF justifiably feel they are unfairly shouldering the entire burden of military service.
Amid all of this strife, I recently met with some ultra-Orthodox rabbis asking about the establishment of a hesder program—which combines military service and religious study—for their sector. At this point, this is just an idea and no plans have been made one way or the other to implement such a system, which currently applies to modern-Orthodox Israelis, including at several yeshivot at Ohr Torah Stone.
But this meeting itself continues to give me hope each day because it demonstrates the idea of flexibility and compromise that must come from all parties involved, including the IDF, haredi leaders and Israeli society.
Over the years—through cooperation with the involved stakeholders—Israel has developed one of the most diverse militaries in the world, in line with Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’s vision of a “people’s army.”
The IDF is one of the few armies in the world that has successful conscription for women, with women making up 51% of all serving officers and 92% of all units having jobs open to women. Members of the country’s Bedouin and Druze populations also serve, along with Israelis with special needs and disabilities, new immigrants who are still learning Hebrew and religiously observant women.
Many of these populations are in the military through tailored programs and special units that have been developed over the years. There is no reason this cannot be replicated to incorporate ultra-Orthodox soldiers. In fact, even as a majority of the ultra-Orthodox remain opposed to a mandatory draft, 59% said in a recent poll that special tracks in the army that allow them to continue with their unique religious lifestyle would boost enlistment numbers.
The army is not the only part of Israeli society working to incorporate haredim. Educational institutions and workplaces, especially those in the high-tech sector, have created tailored programs and office spaces where ultra-Orthodox feel comfortable, resulting in rising employment rates for ultra-Orthodox men and more and better opportunities for women, who have traditionally worked in much higher numbers than men in this sector.
In addition to the IDF creating more special units for haredi soldiers—as the IDF recently announced it would release information about—additional steps must be taken within both ultra-Orthodox society and the army to make these units and haredi service successful.
One essential element is preparatory programs; especially for populations from sectors that have not traditionally served in high numbers. This is a phenomenon we have seen when it comes to religiously-observant young women, who until recently have often opted for non-military national service.
But with a preparatory program, which includes Torah learning, and allows women to enter the army in dedicated cohorts so they will not struggle socially or feel isolated by their background, more young religious women—such as 40% of recent female religious high school graduates—are opting to serve in the army due to these programs and continued sensitivity by all parties to the halachic needs of these soldiers. Similar programs are needed to successfully draft ultra-Orthodox men.
But preparatory programs alone are not enough. There should be continued spiritual guidance during military service with a dedicated representative who participants meet in the preparatory program and is available for consulting and counseling.
At the same time, the IDF needs to respect this need for ongoing spiritual guidance, keeping in touch with such liaisons and remaining aware of challenges that soldiers from different backgrounds are facing. The army must keep this in mind when building units and assessing how and where haredim will serve. Such efforts have been essential to guiding the women who graduate from our religious learning programs through their army service and at companies that have created employment opportunities for the ultra-Orthodox.
As the process begins, it is especially important to allow ultra-Orthodox soldiers to serve where they are comfortable. Over time, as the numbers of ultra-Orthodox grow, areas of service will likely also expand.
For ultra-Orthodox army service to increase and become standard, there must be post-army guidance and programs to help veterans find their place in the community and Israeli society. Serving in the military affects someone for life, not just during the years of direct service.
Due to the high levels of opposition to service, ultra-Orthodox veterans would likely face obstacles when returning to civilian life, including a lack of social acceptance in haredi society, their families and religious institutions. There could also be ramifications for their family members, including being barred from certain learning institutions or having difficulty finding spouses.
Both the military and cooperative ultra-Orthodox and religious Zionist community leaders need to make sure there is a framework for dealing with such challenges and that ultra-Orthodox veterans have communities and institutions of learning that fit their lifestyle.
There is no doubt that drafting more ultra-Orthodox will be a long and complex process for everyone involved. But those who can must serve in the military, helping to ensure the future of the state and make it secure enough to continue to be the center of Jewish life and Torah learning. Israel must also have adequate standards of living and options for social mobility.
Historical and halachic reasoning all point to the need and opportunity for ultra-Orthodox men to serve. In the 1940s, ultra-Orthodox yeshiva boys helped fight for the establishment and protection of the state.
The argument that serving will harm Torah learning is also relevant because more than 30% of ultra-Orthodox men of service age are not even enrolled in yeshivas and the current system does not even ensure that those exempted are actually learning Torah instead.
Moreover, especially at a time of need when we are all in danger—as we are experiencing now—the majority of halachic sources, from the Mishnah in Sotah to Maimonides, as well as the commentaries on Maimonides’s Mishnah Torah, command that everyone must join in to defend the country and the Jewish people.
Furthermore, the current situation is considered pikuach nefesh, when there is a responsibility to save lives—something we are obligated to do as needed. If God forbid, our house was on fire, we would close the Gemara and work to extinguish the fire. Well, the north and parts of the south are on fire.
At the same time, the IDF and Israeli society as a whole must understand that they too need to make efforts to pave the way for the ultra-Orthodox to successfully serve in the army, changing a social paradigm that will allow for the sharing of the burden in the long term. Haredim and their religious lifestyle must be able to find a home at all levels of the IDF.
