Israel – The battle over drafting Haredi men has begun again, eight years after the Tal Law exempted them from army service for as long as they study at yeshivas.
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Two weeks ago, at a stormy meeting held in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz proposed changing the Tal Law to allow ultra-Orthodox men to join the workforce. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and other senior IDF brass objected vehemently. The discussion will continue soon, though the consensus among senior officials is that some change to the Tal Law is necessary and unavoidable.
Steinitz’s proposal is to allow any man with two, three or more children, regardless of whether he is ultra-Orthodox, to choose not to serve in the military and be allowed to work. In addition, the proposal states that anyone else who has not served in the army by age 22 would be allowed to perform one year of civilian national service and then be excused completely from the draft. People 24 years old and up who never served would be exempt from national service and be allowed to work.
As a whole, the treasury’s policy would be that anyone who has not been drafted would be exempted from military service. This would apply regardless of the reason for the exemption, and regardless of the person’s religious affiliation and whether the person is a new immigrant. The Finance Ministry says the current situation is problematic, since the IDF neither drafts Haredim nor is interested in doing so, yet does not exempt them from service and prevents them from working legally until age 30. The treasury says Israeli society is being punished by having to support these yeshiva students since they cannot work.
There are currently 55,000 ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students studying full-time, who have received draft exemptions due to their studies; therefore, they are not allowed to work. The treasury says the country loses out in three ways: It pays allowances for these students; the GDP is smaller because the workforce is smaller; and funds are misallocated from where they are needed most.
There are several IDF frameworks for Haredim who want to serve, but not many choose to do so. The IDF says this is because they need more funds, since these units have special requirements. The treasury argues that this is not the problem, and that the army does not actually want to draft the Haredim, in order to avoid problems.
The IDF objects to the treasury’s proposal, saying that granting exemptions at a young age, such as 22, would increase inequality and allow Haredim to avoid serving with little or no penalty. Netanyahu has yet to state his position, though he is thought to be leaning toward the treasury’s side – but political complications may make it difficult to pass such changes in the cabinet and the Knesset.
The IDF Manpower Division has drawn up a plan to significantly increase the number of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, to more than 50 percent of the haredi boys who turn 18 in 2020.
The first stage of the plan will be to double the number of haredim serving in the military by 2012. Currently, approximately 1,000 haredim serve in the Nahal Haredi Battalion, also called Netzah Yehuda, as well as in technical positions in the air force and Military Intelligence.
The second phase of the plan calls for recruiting close to 60% of 18-year-old haredim each year from 2020. The haredim will have the option of serving in a national service position instead of the military.
Haredim have been exempt from military service since the establishment of the state in 1948, when prime minister David Ben-Gurion gave several hundred yeshiva students an exemption. The number of such yeshiva students has multiplied over the years and is estimated today at around 60,000 between the ages of 18 and 41, of whom over 5,000 were exempted in 2009, according to the IDF.
To attract haredim, the IDF has created a number of programs that integrate ultra-Orthodox lifestyle with military service. In the IAF, for example, soldiers are provided glatt kosher food and are allowed time during the day to study and pray.
“This will have to be a national effort,” a top IDF officer told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. “Our goal is, by 2020, to draft somewhere between 50 and 60% of 18-year-old haredim.”
The IDF, the officer said, was currently lacking 10,000 soldiers due to dwindling draft numbers, with close to 25% of young men not enlisting – some dodging the draft, and others not serving due to religious and medical exemptions.
“There is no question that the lack of soldiers harms the IDF and its ability to carry out its missions,” the officer said. “The number of [required] missions has remained the same but the number of soldiers has dramatically declined.”
One of the ideas the Manpower Division discussed with Netanyahu is changing the system under which haredim receive National Insurance Institute payments, and providing them with the money as salaries in the army.
The IDF has set 2020 as its target date due to an understanding that getting the haredim to enlist into the military is a long-term process that requires political, social and legislative reforms.
This article states the truth.The army doesn;t want chreidim.A few months ago,the nachal went to court just to get themselves in the army
Those chareidi who are offered the option of serving in the IDF in one of the special programs for the orthodox who still choose not to do so, and also refuse alternative (non-military) service, cannot be allowed to join the work force. While sending them to jail is too harsh a punishment, maybe they should be required to leave EY if they are either too lazy or too fearful to help defend the medinhah.
I think the army would be great for Chareidim, they would be able to unload their extra energy. Perhaps the hafganos will then become non violent.
If they would put in half the Koiches they not now put into fighting the country, to protect the Country. We would have the safest country around.
If it wasn’t for anti-charediism/semitism this plan would have gone through long ago. It’s better for everyone but the anti-semites would rather cut off their noses to spite their faces.
Well , it’s beginning just as I pointed out on all fronts. The Tel Aviv Mayor, Livni, the neighborhood protests against Chareidim and now this. Whenever a segment of society begins violent demonstrations , politicians will use those events to rile up vulnerable segments of society against them. The seculars are also angry at the large family housing they have and can’t figure out how they are buying apts and the fastest growing cities in Israel like El Ad near Tel Aviv.
Seculars already feel threatened by the demographic chgs to their declining populace in the country, hareidim multiplying and populating the country , politicians and corporations are catering to their religious needs, they feel threatened of their lifestyle or embarrassed when chareidim move in and run like the plague from the neighborhood. They are angry religious are now serving in the army and refuse to recognize that certain conditions must be provided to them. They don’t complain about the Arab needs only the religious Jews. Now this issue is coming again, and thank all those rebbes and Gedolim (not the bnei brak ones who did) not coming out in a media blitz against violence in protests.
Now that the Orthodox are the plurality in the country, who will serve in the army?
Where will Israel get it’s soldiers as the seculars familys are declining and the amount of their children refusing to serve increasing. Do Chareidim have an obligation as they are today a larger proportion of the country than in years before when the seculars did their fair share (although Yeshiva men davened on the Tehillim and tefilla front equally important. Today it has changed , maybe Egypt and Jordan will lend some troops? Where will Israel get soldiers???/ It is simple math !! Ask any politician what the numbers are?Israel is in a bad neighborhood and must have a highly efficient army to offset the quantity of it’s sonim besides Yisroel Betach Behashem!
I think it’s a good idea that they should force haredim into the army. After all, the position of Haredim is that the poor freie Jews should do all their dirty work for them while they stay nice and comfortable back home, and then can bit the hand that feeds them with plenty of money and stay happy in “Eretz Yisroel” (which they mean the State of Israel). It’s time the haredim grow up and decide whose side they are on: the side that believes the medinah is traif or the side that believes its kosher, and therefore to STOP DANCING AT BOTH WEDDINGS!!
Why don’t they go to ben yehudah on motzei shabbos and pick up truck loads of those “yeshivah boys” and make them mop the floors and peel potatoes for 2 years so they would atleast have some “profession” in theirs hands for years to come. The real problem is for the 7000 (on a generous estimation)ehrliche yiden whom when given the chance to work with avoiding the army would actually go out and work and support their family. But for the approximately 10,000 serious b’neih torah,they will not give up the learning,and they get all the credit. They’re the most important to the security of israel. BUT,for the rest of them, approximately some 48,000 ,are interested in working as they are in learning,and are simply people who want all pleasures by doing nothing!
When moishiach comes there will be no need for anyone to join the army and more importantly, there will be no need for anyone to work. The ebeshter will defend us all and provide all of us with a parnassah without any effort on our parts. That is why we daven every day for z’man moishiach.
After seeing how the violent chareidim behave at these hafgamot, would you actually trust them to handle semiautomatic weapons?
If chareidim don’t serve in the Army or do real national service, they don’t vote. That’ll get them thinking about it.
Do “Israeli” arabs have to serve in the IDF?
Why are some lives more important than others, our enemies want to destroy all of us, they don’t care if you are Chareidi or not, we must all come together and protect ourselves!
Let them plan all they want, it’s never going to happen, besides if they consider setting up a Sanhedrin or other strictly religious body that has the the ultimate power to decide everything that involves the military.
The truth is that the left in Israel wants this to perpetuate so they can continue bash the Frum.
They’re trying to draft 50% of Charedi boys? That’s about 50% too low.
I don’t see how drafting thousands of out of shape haredim who have 0 interpersonal skills with the non religious, who don’t believe in the country or the purpose of the army, will do any good for the IDF. Seems like it will just be a massive burden on the army having to deal with them.
If this legislative measure is enacted, it will be the end of the Medina
I think its a great idea,there will be much less poverty in the charedie circles besides we all know that a lot of us could use some good dicipline and the army is very religous friendly.
I find it strange that there are thousands of charedim in the IDF. How can one who believes that the torah is divine take orders (including life and death situations) from someone who has no interest in the values of torah and halacha?
When being attacked by the enemy, often the soldiers are required to ignore halacha and the common sense dictate of killing the attackers, and rather wrestle the attacker to the ground, and put him in jail. How many Jews have gone to jail for killing attacking Arabs?
IDF soldiers are expected to risk their lives to protect the “civilians” giving cover for the attackers.
IDF soldiers are at times commanded to expell entire Jewish communities from their homes.
The IDF could defend Israel much better, with only 10% of their budget, and only 10% of their staff. This has been proven historically. The IDF is so big, that it feels it needs to send their soldiers into battle with their hands tied behind their backs.
How much is it costing the nation to hold the terrorists in jail. Shooting them in the kneecaps, and deporting them is much more effective and cheaper. One has to be nuts to take orders from those idiots.
Why dint they get those remote controlled robots to do the job?
We don’t need 98% of Charedim sitting in shuls all day. It’s not like you produce 50-60% of new Gedolim or Tzadikim. The Charedi dynasties already have preselected 1% who will be the gedolim and poskim. The rest should start contributing to the country and not just breathing and eating on someone’s dime. You can say tehilim and shoot a gun to defend your country. Everyone is tired of hearing “charedim defend Israel by learning Toyre all day.” Uhm, no they don’t– they are just like everyone else, but only don’t sacrifice like the rest.
How to destroy the state of Israel in 3 simple lessons:
(1) Retain incumbent politicians.
(2) Fill the IDF with at least 25% Ukrainian Christians (higher pay if they can prove a family history of lethal anti-Jewish attacks within the past 100 years)
(3) Draft Haredim into IDF.
i learned at ohr sameach with a wonderful lamdan who was rabbi at zahal and don`t ask me for what. he wore kaftan and payes ( we even learned in yiddish ).
i mean that yidden serve at other armies if they have to , they even make teffilot for obama so how much more can they serve in an army even if we are in gallut