• Israelis are divided over the exemptions to military conscription with numerous protests taking place around the country.
• Recently, Haredi Jews have had state funding revoked from their educational institutions for their anti-conscription stance.
It is hard enough to be politically left wing in Israel these days, but it is even harder being an Israeli anti-Zionist. Israel’s ultra-orthodox Haredi community has once again found itself in the crosshairs of the government.
In January of this year, S2J News reported on developments in Modi’in Illit where IDF troops withdrew from the city after encountering defiance from Haredi Jews belonging to the Peleg Yerushalmi sect (see here). This sect of Jews opposes Zionism and rejects any affiliation with the state of Israel, believing that the creation of Israel is a rebellion against God. In fact, Haredi Jews reject any notion of Jewish political organization until the arrival of the Messiah.
For a nation founded on the principle of providing a safe homeland for the Jewish people, the Haredi community have long drawn the ire of bureaucrats in Jerusalem for their rebellious attitudes to Zionism. Following October 7th, the Israeli government has been routinely conscripting Israeli men and women to fuel its war efforts in Gaza. To say that the Israeli
government has faced backlash from the Haredi community would be an understatement.
Tens of thousands have protested the draft and police have had to forcibly remove dozens of
Haredi protestors from blocking roads. Some have even been jailed for refusing to join the IDF.
As one Haredi man told a reporter from The Times of Israel, “We prefer dying to serving in the Israeli army, there’s no way you can force us to go to the army, because we are hell-bent that the army and religion contradict one another”.
This week Israel’s High Court ruled that there be a funding freeze of all government funds going to Haredi educational institutions and schools whose students are eligible for conscription. The ruling has sparked anger among the Haredim (another word for the Haredi community).
As a result, Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition government, which is backed by some Haredi political parties and their representatives, could be tearing at the seams. If the Haredim pull out of the coalition then Mr. Netanyahu might see himself removed from government.
The truth is that many Israelis have long resented the Haredi’s special status of being exempted from conscription. In a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, as many as 70% of Israelis support an end to blanket military exemptions.
Though only 12-13% of the population, the conservative Haredi’s are the key to maintaining stability in the Israeli government and keeping Mr. Netanyahu in power. Mr. Netanyahu is well aware of this too. Officially the government will have to decide what will happen to exemption laws by April the 1st. If Mr. Netanyahu wants to keep his power, he should think twice before further provoking Haredim.
