A Different View on Israel

 In Israel All Are Equal  Under The Law — Or Not?

The discussion in the Israeli Parliament concerning the “Draft Evasion Bill”, has been going on  for quite a while with the Haredi parties,  who hold a crucial vote on this matter, changing their minds (through their Rabbinical leaders) back and forth regarding their support and it appears that they are only increasing their demands with every turn.

The same happened when the senior rabbinical leaders devised a sophisticated scheme claiming they would support the bill, because it would remove the sanctions against most draft dodgers at least for some time, but in the end, it will take a while to be approved and installed, because the High Court will be against it in any case, and the Haredim will just gain a lot of time, while finally disapprove of the law.

While this scheme lost some of its impact because a local TV News Program reported it, (even though it did not cause the Prime Minister to change his mind), the Haredim came up with a new demand, which has, also in non-Haredi circles, ignited a discussion that goes much deeper into the “Jewishness” of the Modern Israel, and the power of the Haredi leadership.

By bringing up the equality of Jewish women who want to serve in the army, a long-term inequality issue between Israeli men and women was reignited. It brings to the fore that (Haredi) men are better than others and they deserve, by enlisting in the army, special conditions which include the complete separation of male and female soldiers.

The bottom line in this dispute is simple: give the Haredim what they want or they will have the “right” to refuse to serve.

According to Haredi rules, women are supposed to be at home, raise children and let their men ”study”. To make sure everyone got the message, Haredi scum rioted in Bnei Brak this week and two female soldiers had to run for their lives hunted by hundreds of Haredim. While the police made ridiculous excuses, such as the “soldiers should have notified us”, the IDF was very clear in their comments: An Israeli soldier does not need permission or coordination to go anywhere in Israel and the riots are a blame on Israel and on Bnei Brak.

Under current legislation, a Haredi youngster who wants to study Torah, is exempt from enlisting in the army, and this was originally approved by Ben Gurion himself, (under pressure from the Haredim, whose support he required then already). However, while at time (1948) it meant that about 400 Haredim would be exempt, that number has now grown to thousands of youngsters, who may or may not study the Torah, but will not enlist.

Why is someone who studies medicine or economics required to go to the army but a Haredi youngster can stay home? Especially now, after two years of war, with thousands of reserve soldiers having served hundreds of days of reserve duty, this issue has become a controversial one. Reservists have seen their businesses destroyed, their families under great pressure, their lives put in danger with many having died or been injured during the war. So why shouldn’t a Haredi man do his part in the defense of their country and enlist like all others? And the army is clearly In need of soldiers, some claim thousands of them and the reserve duty of soldiers has been lengthened significantly, and the compulsory enlistment has been lengthened as well.

It is high time to recognize that all Israelis are equal and that studying medicine or anything else is just as important as studying Torah even taking into account the importance of this for the Jewish population. Israel is a Jewish State. But there can no longer be room for two types of Jews. Those who do their  part as Jewish citizens of the Jewish State and those who don’t.

I hope you found this article interesting and I welcome any comments you may have.

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