Israel Speaks
One of the most debated issues of the summer 2012 has been
the military service of the Ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi Jews.
Most Haredi Jews are exempted from the military service.
The issue has been disputed since the establishment of the State.
It has recently resurged after the Supreme Court noted,
that the Parliament should reorganize the legislation.
Although the religious parties are small, they have a great influence.
So far they have prevented the army service of the Haredi Jews.
Shachar Ilan is an experienced journalist.
He has specialized in the issues of Haredi Jewry.
He is the leader of Hiddush Institute,
that promotes equality in the Israeli society.
According to Hiddush 7 out of 8 Haredi youth don't serve in the army.
The historical reason is simple -
in 1948 the Haredim were a small group.
Ben Gurion exempted 400 Yeshiva students from the army.
As the Haredi population grows naturally very fast,
their numbers grew enormously.
The Israeli population grew by 1,200% since 1948,
but the Haredi population grew by 13,000%.
The ideological reason of the Haredim is that
studying the Torah protects Israel more than the military service.
The real reason is that the rabbis are worried,
that if the Haredim join the army, they will see other lifestyles,
and some of them would stop being Haredi.
They try to keep them as long as possible in the Haredi world.
In order to be exept from the army,
the Haredi must be all the time in a yeshiva.
At first they are in the yeshiva for unmarried men,
and later they go to "Kolel" which is for married men.
A part of the criticism is that it's obvious that many students
don't really study all day, but they do other things instead.
So why they don't send to the army those who do not study.
There are different estimates of the numbers.
This week I heard that 70% of the students don't really study.
I think this is exaggerated, but I'm certain,
that 20-30% of them do not study.
The Ultra-Orthodox follow the instructions of important rabbis.
So far they have instructed to refrain form the military service.
Nevertheless, a small minority of the Haredi youth have served
in special units designed to meet their needs.
Ariel Deree leads a religious movement,
that supports the Haredi youth who want to serve in the army
and participate in the Israeli society.
Ariel has served as an adviser of ministers,
and lead a religious school in Jerusalem.
- The Haredi society is unique in the whole world.
It is a society that sanctifies studying.
We believe that the world exists because of those people,
who study in the yeshivas.
It's different from studying in a university,
where you get degrees for a career.
It's studying for knowledge.
A Jew should study every free minute he has.
He is not allowed to do anything, that prevents him from studying.
The army does not let them study and keep their lifestyle.
We believe that studying the Torah is important for Israel,
as an ethical and historical value, and also for its security.
It enables us to exist as a nation different from all other nations.
We asked Jerusalemites,
what they think of the army service of the Haredi Jews.
- I think they should contribute to the State as everyone else,
at least by a civil service, if not in the army.
- A yeshiva student should stay in the yeshiva,
if he is really studying.
- The Haredim are citizens and should serve like others,
there's no reason why not.
The past generations defended us. It's our turn to defend the State.
- They should serve in the army, because they too are citizens.
They have the rights, so they should have the duties also.
- They should not be drafted. Everyone has their reasons.
Someone has to study the holy books.
Secondly, I don't think they fit to the army.
The army needs brave men, and I hope we have enough of them.
Those who study the Torah give more to the State than the soldiers.
But those who just use it as an exuse to be exempt form the army,
should serve and learn what it really means.
- The army has wanted to draft the Haredim in recent years.
It's not easy, as they demand to serve where there is no women.
The reason why the army takes this challenge is,
that today 13% of 18-year-old men are Haredim,
but in the 6-year-olds 26% are Haredim.
In 13 years, if the Haredim won't join the army,
there will not be enough soldiers.
There's not really a question should they be drafted or not.
If they are not, there won't be enough soldiers.
The fact that most Haredi youth don't serve in the army
affects many other things as well.
- As long as they don't serve, they won't work,
because they are exempted only if they study full-time.
The damage to the Israeli society is huge.
60% of Haredi men don't work. Such a phenomenon hasn't existed
anywhere in the world, maybe never in the history of humankind,
that most men study instead of working.
Our senior economists think that as the Haredi society is growing fast,
the Israeli economy will collapse to a third world economy.
That's why the efforts to get more of them to the army and work
is not only for morality or equality,
but for the continuation of the State of Israel.
The political leadership has avoided the issue for decades.
It seems that the current government
is unable to change the situation either.
Ariel Deree says, though, that the situation
is changing among the Haredi.
- I joined the army in 1993, when the Haredim were rare.
They had to take off their uniforms when they went back home.
The numbers are still small, but 2,500 Haredim served last year,
but the numbers are growing, so we are on the right track.
The Haredi society does not like drastic changes.
The changes should be made slowly and together with the society.
Because the society is growing it has more needs.
Different groups have different needs.
It's possible to keep the Haredi world as it is,
and also help them and develop special units in the army,
that are suitable for Haredim.
People on the streets of Jerusalem are also wandering,
how the situation could be solved.
- Everyone does what is good for himself.
I respect the Torah study, they know about it more than I do.
But they should serve the country equally.
- The recent demonstrations might have changed their view a little.
Hopefully they understand that what they are doing is wrong.
Some of them are now going to the army.
I hope they would do it voluntarily, so that we won't have to force them.
- There will always be Haredim who don't serve,
just like the athletes don't serve, but they should not be so many.
If Bibi is smart, he'll draft most of them.
- I hope the situation will change and they will serve.
But they are stubborn. They think that they should study.
- It's possible to pray and study in the army also.
There are many religious soldiers, and there is a Haredi unit.
If they have a synagogue and a yeshiva in the army, it can work.
- It is obvious that many Haredim would have left the yeshiva
and gone to the army and to work, if their society would accept it.
The problem is that the State enables them to live by studying,
but it is a life of poverty,
and many Haredi families would prefer not to live like that.
Today the Haredi who goes to the army and to work
pays a heavy social price.
For example, it will be hard for him to get his children
to Haredi schools.
So if this will be accepted in the Haredi world,
many more will join the army willingly.
- The people have power,
and their opinions affect the decision makers.
The politicians have to listen to the voices of the public.
It is true that there is a clear hierarchy in the Haredi world.
The rabbis make the decisions, we accept that.
But the reality is that many people are looking for solutions.
For example, when I began studying in the university in 1999,
there were very little, maybe 100 Haredi students.
Today there are 7,300.
They say that they want to be psychologists, doctors, lawyers...
The rabbis can't oppose that.
Of course it has to be in accordance with the Haredi way of life.
We respect the rabbis, but we also hear the voices of the people,
those young people, who need solutions.
The two main religious groups in Israel
disagree about the army service.
In addition to the Haredi Jews, there is another religious group
called the National or Zionist Religious Jews.
This group regards the military service as an religious duty.
Virtually 100% of the Nationalist Jews serve in the army.
This is more than among the Secular Jews.
Rabbi Itamar Cohen leads a pre-army training center
in Nokdim near Jerusalem.
It prepares religious youth for the army service.
The religious population is divided into two main groups.
The other part decided even before the establishment of the state
to be passive and not to take part in the building of the state.
One reason is that they say it should be done by the Messiah,
and not by the people.
The other reason is that those who established the state,
were secular people, and the rabbis could not cooperate with them.
Our society saw the returning of the Jews to their country
as a step in the redemption process,
and decided to take part in it.
When the State was established the Haredim were passive,
but the National Religious sector took part and supported the State
and served in the army.
Studying the Torah is important, but so is the military service.
It is a commandment. We try to balance these two commandments,
studying the Torah, and serving and participating in the army.
I think we are doing it quite succesfully.
Our programs, like the one I lead,
help to combine the Torah study and the army service.
- I think that the National Religious sector is doing
a great service for the Israeli society.
They show that it's possible to combine the traditional Jewish world
and the modern world and the army.
But the Haredi world sanctifies Torah study over everything else.
First the Torah, after that the Land of Israel.
For the National Religious people they are more equal.
These views are different, but we respect both.
We are only trying to help those who want to work
and participate in the society.
Also National Religious Jews face difficult situations in the army.
- The army is a secular system. It accepts religious soldiers,
but the atmosphere is secular.
For example, a religious soldier sees, that the Sabbath is not kept.
He has his own rules, but the system does not follow them.
In extreme cases it could cause a confrontation,
if a religious soldier is asked to do things he's not allowed to do.
These dilemmas exist all the time.
The leaders of the biblical times,
who both served God and defended the country,
serve as ideals for National Religious Jews.
- It's clear that the face of the original, ancient Judaism
was of people, who served in the army.
King David and Moses fought against different nations,
and the prophet Samuel and all the leaders of Israel
took part in the conquest and defence for the Land of Israel.
In that sense the Judaism of today, that has no connection to the army,
is a strange thing that is not found in the Bible.
It belongs to the 2000 years of exile,
when the People of Israel didn't have a state nor leadership,
which need also an army.
This created a Jew that is only studying.
It is not the ideal reality.
- Those who study the Bible know, that next to those who studied,
there were always an army and people who worked.
But the Jewish people have just experienced
the biggest trauma in the last 2000 years - the Holocaust.
In the Holocaust the most important rabbis were killed
and Jewish communities were wiped out.
There was a need to re-establish the world of the Torah.
When you establish something new, you are always more extreme.
It needs a lot of energy and effort.
We respect the soldiers very much. Very few Haredim don't respect them.
Most of them know, that the soldiers are paying a heavy price.
But like in the army there should be an airforce and a navy,
tanks and paratroopers,
so the Jewish world needs both an army and Torah students.
It is what makes us unique, the action and the spirit,
the soul and the matter.
Translation: Hannele Tainio