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| Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch (VIN) |
(For) the first time in history and with the approval of the Gedolim, the Chareidi parties (UTJ and Shas) have agreed in principle to a law outlining quotas and targets of the number of Chareidim who serve in the IDF, a measure that was rejected by the Chareidim in the past. Sanctions will be imposed on yeshivos that don’t meet the recruitment goals.
This is a monumental change in attitude. Apparently they now agree to a change in policy that I have long ago suggested. That not all Charedim should be exempt from serving in the army. I am, however, disappointed at their motives for doing so:
The (Charedi) MKs told the Roshei Yeshivos their fears that if the draft law is too extreme, left-wing groups will grab the opportunity to incite against the government in an attempt to topple it altogether, possibly creating a crisis that could harm yeshivos and kollelim.
In other words they are not doing it for the altruistic reason of sharing the burden with the rest of the country. They are doing it for the pragmatic reason of protecting their turf. Be that as it may I still think it is something to celebrate.
That being said, they do want to limit army service to those that who choose not to learn full time. That may not be enough to satisfy the IDF’s needs during a time of war. Nonetheless it is a start and a major shift in their anti army policy. Which was based on their view that the IDFis little more than a government social engineering tool to disabuse religious Jews of observance.
That argument never held water in my eyes for the most obvious of reasons. First - the fact that sincere committed religious Jews in the army never succumbed to such dangers in the relatively rare instances where they appeared. Second - the fact that Hesder Yeshiva students whose valor in combat is legendary rarely if ever gave up their Torah study or Mitzvah observance. Third - the creation of several different types of Charedi military units (Nachal Charedi) that catered specifically to Charedi needs.
In the past Charedi leadership had always doubled down on their view that the IDF was all about social engineering - and accused the IDF of not fulfilling the promises they made about Charedi units.
Those fears seem to have disappeared. This is good news.
On the other hand, I don’t think the concessions the Charedi world wants to make go far enough. The choice of learning full time as an exemption should not be made solely by potential Charedi recruits. It must also include a provision that will not allow draft dodging – in which some of their youth choose learning full time specifically to get out of the army.
There needs to be some way of determining who is sincere and who is just dodging the draft using this convenient loophole. Quotas may be a way to at least partially solve that problem.
If there is a minimum number of Charedi recruits required in order to keep the army viable, it will surely mean that some of those who choose to learn full time won’t be able to. As always, the devil is in the details. It will be difficult at best to know who is sincere and who isn’t. Hard as that may be, if there is a will there is a way. I’m sure it can be done in a more or less equitable way.
What those quota numbers will be remains to be seen. My guess is that there will be a lot of discussion about the size of the quotas. But people of good will can negotiate and eventually come to a meeting of the minds. On the other hand this may be the sticking point that will torpedo the entire thing. I sure hope not.
There is another wrinkle to consider. What will the rejectionist Peleg Yerushalmi faction do about this? They are opposed to the draft law even as they stand now. Where Charedim are required to register for the draft but not required to serve as long as they are learning full time.
Their view is in direct opposition to acceptance of that law by the 2 most recognized religious leaders of the Yeshiva world, Rav Aharon Leib Steinman and Rav Chaim Kanievsky (both of blessed memory). Their view was not accepted by the founder of Peleg, Rav Shmuel Auerbach. He instead opted for disruptive (sometimes even violent) protests in the streets of Jerusalem.
If the new draft paradigm is implemented, there is no telling what this faction will do. One thing is certain, It won’t be pretty. It will probably cause even greater resentment of the Charedi world. Which is at unprecedented levels now because of the lack of Charedi sacrifice being made by everyone else.
Leaving this faction aside, this is a golden opportunity to change the way the rest of Israel views the Charedi world. Let us hope that the Charedi leadership and the IDF don’t blow it by making unreasonable demands of each other.