Talks are underway between Naftali Bennett of Bayit HaYehudi and Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid towards reaching agreement on the ‘share the burden’ issue. If the dati leumi and secular parties reach agreement, in all likelihood, Bennett’s next battle will be with some of the rabbonim who represent the dati leumi tzibur.
Following the release of the Plesner Committee report a number of dati leumi rabbonim spoke out harshly against the committee’s recommendations, which are in line with the Lapid plan to compel chareidim to serve in the military. Rabbonim who signed their names to that document include Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, and Rabbi Tzvi Yisrael Tau.
The Rabbonim Shlita at the time spoke of the “spiritual threats” facing the State of Israel and the need “to increase limud Torah sevenfold”.
In a related matter, Rabbi Chaim Druckman Shlita, a leading posek in the dati leumi community has met with Naftali Bennett following the elections. The rav was unwilling to divulge details of that meeting but told the press “I rely on Bennett”. When asked to comment on his vision of ‘sharing the burden,” Bennett is quoted by Yisrael Hayom as saying that “we must address two mitzvos here, learning Torah and serving in the IDF.”
Yisrael Hayom quotes persons close to Rav Druckman as saying “things may change down the line but for now, Lapid takes the matter to an extreme.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
Every1 knows that Lapid is offering the EXTREME SET OF CARDS, that is how Poker is played. Negociations and compromises will result, especially since Bayit Yehudi and other religious parties will boycott the coalition if not. Yahalom’s plan is workable and needs a bit of decorative ribbons till it can be worn.
Except that perhaps as many as 5% of Eretz Yisrael’s Jewish population does not consider military service to be a mitzvah. They would argue that the state it itself is a usurper, and that they entered into a war over real estate, and no more, and that is not a legitimate bases to spill blood or to risk one’s own life. From that perspective, the war is over Dinei Mamonos, and nothing more. So if you hold that way, and the government tries to conscript you, you will resist. Cutting off benefits won’t affect such people, since they don’t accept government subsidies for their instituitons.
If the non-zionists are drafted and threatened with fines or arrest, their resistance will make it impossible for other hareidim to serve in the military, so suddenly Israel will be facing 10-20% resistance. That in itself will destabilize a country, but since most of Israel’s international supporters are supporting Israel since it is a Biblical state or alternatively, a haven for Jews from religious persecution, Israel will lose that support, and will start facing serious international sanctions. Most of the western world would consider the conscription of people who oppose military service on a religious basis to be a crime against humanity (and yes, the world has changed in the last 75 years).
The only way for Israel to increase hareidi enlistment is to rely on economic incentives, combined with making the military more friendly to hareidim (more frum units, making regular units friendlier to frum Jews, banning various forms of behavior that are highly offensive to hareidim of the sort we can’t discuss here, etc.). Any attempt to fine or imprison or punish those who refuse to serve in the military, and that includes hareidim who have no intention of being professional learners as well as hareidios, will end up dooming the whole zionist endeavor.
There are close to %20 who consider military service an avaira vs %15 who consider it a mitzva. Most israelis, dont consider it either a mitzva or an avaira. They regard it as a civic duty they hope their kids somehow get excused from.
No 2.Message very clear….spread that message.
Its refreshing to see a common-sense approach to this issue which has divided Israeli society more than any time in its history. There is no truth to all those who scream that “sharing the burden” will destroy the yeshivot and end torah learning….quite to the contrary. It will unify yidden and make EY even stronger.
#2:
How about the economic incentive of stopping all funding to kollelim whose members have not served in the army, including all the tax breaks and other economic assistance they receive?
(I am not advocating this, but given that you favor economic incentives rather than forced conscription (“sharing the burden”), how’s that for an economic incentive?)
It used to be that here in EY, some one who was in the army got double the amount of Bituach Leumi money than some one who was not in the army. Meaning that ultra Orthodox and Arabs got half the amount of the family of a soldier.
Good old Shulamit Aloni had that law changed since she felt that it discriminated against the poor Arabs.
I think it is time to re-think the law and change it back to what it was before that those who serve in the IDF get double of what those who do not serve get. This will help those who ‘share the burden’.
#2
A very good analysis. However, even tose who do not take a direct subsidy are being given government servicess. For example, who is protecting them from terrorists and insuring their right to learn full time?
Also, since ALL IDF kitchens are supposed to be Kosher, many of the Charedim can be used as mogiachim to supervise theses kitchens.
I am sure their are other requirements in the army that will suit the particular talents of Chredim and not force them to compromise their beliefs.
There is a requirement to do military service when there is a threat. There is a requirement to learn Torah, always. The Torah dose not exempt anyone from his obligation of learning but it exempts all sorts of people from military service. There will soon be a time when there will be no need for any form of military service for anyone. There will never be a time when we will not have an obligation to learn Torah. So how do you juxtapose the two as if they were equals?
The presentation of military service as a value and an end to itself is militarism. It is a disease that has destroyed uncountable nations and civilizations throughout history. It is not the way of the Torah. We have armies and a military infrastructure because we have deadly enemies and not because we glorify killing and destruction.
There are unfortunately those who do not see the Torah as the exclusive source for their values and promote many ideas that are outside or against the Torah. I only ask those who do so to be honest and add hypocrisy to their heresy. Do not wrap your philosophy/political ideology/personal opinions in a Torah scroll.
#6 – Many kollels refuse government money and rely on private contributions. In American legalese, they feel that to accept the government’s money would corrupt them (they probably go the idea from Pirke Avos). If the sanction for not going to the army is loss of kollel money, and no more, there won’t be a problem (though problems will soon arise if the government continues the practice of very liberal subsidies for veterans studying Jewish studies in universities, and meagre subsidies for those studying Torah in yeshivos).
However the leading plans now call for arresting and imprisoning any hareidim (yeshiva students or baal ha-battim, male or female) who refuse to serve in the army. While many of the yeshivos that depend on government money, and happen to be fairly zionist as well, will work with the government as long as the army accomodates hareidi soldiers – those that oppose the medinah will vehemently refuse and resist, and that resistance will have dire consequences for the medinahl.