The war on Gaza contributed to the escalation of the debate between secularists and Haredim over the conscription law and the principle of burden sharing (Al Jazeera)

Occupied Jerusalem -

A state of anticipation prevails in Israeli society, as the order issued by successive governments granting “Haredi” Jews exemption from military service, in exchange for studying the Torah in Jewish religious schools, is supposed to expire at the end of this month.

The Supreme Court gave Netanyahu's government until March 31 to reach an understanding regarding recruiting the Haredim and obliging them to military service, as the number of those who can be assigned currently reaches 157,000 people, but the Israeli army does not recruit them, and they are considered - according to the law - to be deserters. From military service.

Amid the state of anticipation that puts Netanyahu's government in the face of coalition, social, and political crises, the war on Gaza has sparked controversy again in Israeli society, about "equality in the burden" and the necessity of recruiting the Haredim, a debate that has been going on for 30 years between the ultra-Orthodox community and the secular Jewish community, and to some extent The national religious community as well.

About 157,000 Haredi Jews evade regular military service and reserve forces (Al Jazeera)

Cross-government debate

The term “Haredi Judaism,” or “Haredim,” refers to the conservative Orthodox Jewish sector, numbering 1.3 million people, constituting about 14% of the Jewish population in Israel. Its followers are keen to maintain a conservative and different lifestyle, with great care to study the teachings of The Torah and observance of Jewish religious commandments and customs, in addition to special sectarian descriptions.

In an effort to find a compromise solution, the “Netzah Yehuda” Association was established in 1999, which accompanies ultra-Orthodox Haredi soldiers before their recruitment, during military service, and upon their departure from civilian life. The association’s staff works in cooperation with the army and the Ministry of Security to provide an environment for Haredi soldiers during military service, ensuring the preservation of Values ​​of the Orthodox community within the army.

Since the founding of the association, the number of graduates from ultra-Orthodox courses in the Israeli army has reached 21,000, out of 64,000 who are obligated to serve in the reserve, and many of them were recruited into the reserve ranks during the war on Gaza, according to data from the Israeli army recruitment office.

Despite the many challenges due to the environment in which they grew up, army data shows that there are 2,800 soldiers from a Haredi Orthodox background in regular military service, out of 41,000 obligated to military service, meaning that only 6% of the Haredi public join the army, compared to 72% of the general public. Israeli.

The heated controversy faces an extremist government coalition of ultra-Orthodox parties that strongly oppose the conscription law, namely the "Shas" movement headed by Rabbi Aryeh Deri, which includes "Sephardic" Jews of Eastern origin, and the "Torah Judaism" party headed by Moshe Gafni, which represents Ashkenazi Jews from Western and European origins.

The intensity of the rhetoric and debate regarding the conscription law is escalating, which was reflected in the statements of the Chief Rabbi of the Haredi Jews, Yitzhak Yosef, who said, “If they impose military service on us in the army, we will all travel abroad. We will buy tickets.”

In this regard, Netanyahu seeks to contain the situation, find solutions that prevent the disintegration of his government coalition, and preserve the historical alliance with the Haredi parties, which have been a mainstay in the coalition of Israeli governments for more than 3 decades.

Analyzes agreed that the decision not to recruit Haredi Jews is a political decision, and they agreed that none of the parties participating in Netanyahu’s government, which relies on 64 members of the Knesset, wants to undermine the current coalition, as the war gave both sides a deadline in recruiting and sharing the burden, but the deadline - according to Analysts' estimates - have expired.

The Haredim oppose military service and replace it with studying the Torah and the Jewish religion (Al Jazeera)

Cost of recruitment

The military correspondent of the Walla website, Amir Boukhbout, reviewed the conscription law crisis and said, “The Israeli army maintains secrecy regarding the recruitment of the ultra-Orthodox population, and army officials make it clear that despite the need for manpower, the Israeli army is in no hurry to recruit Jews.” "Haredim."

Boukhbout adds, “There has recently been extensive work in the General Staff of the Israeli Army to increase manpower without relying on the Haredim, as it is clear that the Army does not want to recruit them. In return, the Army is doing its best to encourage the recruitment of young Jewish men from abroad, and to distribute resources among all Branches and command areas.

The military correspondent attributed the army’s unwillingness to recruit Haredim to “the General Staff’s certainty that there is no unusual motive in the Haredi sector to recruit into the army, and that the budget of each Haredi soldier is several times larger than the budget of an ordinary soldier, given that Haredim marry at an early age and have many children.” “So there is no incentive for the army to recruit them.”

The Haredim constitute 14% of the Jewish public in Israel (Al Jazeera)

"Heavy Burden" Law

In a reading of the repercussions of the law on the political and social side, political analyst on the “Zaman Yisrael” website, Amir Bar Shalom, believes that “Israel is facing one of the largest social crises ever, but the fault lines that will divide Israeli society this time will not be political, but rather moral.”

The political analyst explained, “If a consensus solution is not reached regarding Haredi recruitment until the end of this month, the Netanyahu government will be obligated next April to submit the new compulsory service law and the reserve law, which includes extending regular military service and increasing the number of reserve days, which is “What has come to be called the heavy burden law.”

He pointed out that the aforementioned law will also be approved by those members of the government and the coalition of Haredi parties who do not bear the burden, noting that the law primarily targets tens of thousands of regular, secular soldiers, and the reserve force system that is still in a state of partial mobilization, saying, “ When the reserve forces recover from the horror of the war in Gaza, they will come out against extending reserve service and insist on recruiting Haredim.”

Source: Al Jazeera