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The ultra-Orthodox Jews live in semi-isolated areas inside Israel, and are exempt from work and conscription in order to devote themselves to reading the Torah, but they face the risk of losing all of that after the flood of last October 7, which reflects the fragility of the biblical nuclear state.

The voices of the Israeli opposition have increased regarding the need to recruit the Haredim during the current war on the Gaza Strip, as they represent 13% of the population, according to a report prepared for Al Jazeera by Ahmed Faal Ould Ledine.

On the other hand, others believe that devoting time to studying Jewish law is more important than carrying weapons and fighting battles, because this law is what produces soldiers who can commit the crimes they commit in Gaza without batting an eyelid.

The Haredim believe that the holy war currently taking place in Gaza stipulates that no Palestinian - including children and women - should be left alive, because if you do not kill them, they will kill you, according to what Eliyahu Mali, a religious teacher in the city of Jaffa, said.

Mali says, "Today's terrorists are yesterday's children whom we left alive, and women are the ones who make terrorists."

The doctrine of the annihilation of the Palestinians

According to these teachings, the doctrine of the annihilation of the Palestinians is firmly rooted in the consciences of these extremists, who derive it from a history charged with revenge derived from historical myths.

From this standpoint, the secularists’ talk about recruiting the Haredim reflects their lack of understanding of the fact that religious schools are the basis of Israel’s existence and the successes of its army, as one of their rabbis says.

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds it difficult to recruit these extremists, who represent a pillar of his government, opposition leader Yair Lapid says that recruiting the Haredim has become a necessity in light of the shortage of soldiers on the battle fronts.

Lapid believes that recruiting the Haredim is no longer an ideological issue, but rather an existential issue, in light of the possibility of the Lebanon front igniting in conjunction with the war in the Gaza Strip.

The exclusion of the Haredim from conscription dates back to an agreement concluded in the middle of the last century with the late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, under which they devoted themselves to guarding the idea religiously, not fighting for it militarily.

The Haredim view the Israeli army as a secular, profane army full of immorality, such as promiscuity and shaving of beards, and thus they find it difficult to integrate into it, while the secularists accuse them of taking over on the march and turning into a financial burden on the state.

As the demands for their recruitment increased, the Haredim threatened to leave the state, a threat that reflects the fragility of the biblical nuclear state and its residents’ permanent feeling of eternal insecurity and readiness to leave like any colonizer.

Source: Al Jazeera