There’s a good reason why Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews don’t serve in the military | Opinion

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that Haredi men (often referred to as “ultra-Orthodox”) who study Jewish scripture full time are denied the exemption from military service that has been available since the state’s founding.

The decision signals an “urgent need for additional personnel” in the army as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip and faces the threat of another terrorist group, Hezbollah, on its northern border.

The decision has social and political implications: A majority of Israelis support the conscription of students into yeshivas (Torah-study institutions) and welcomed the move, and it could have implications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, which depends on the participation of Haredi parties.

The main issue seems to be the need for soldiers, which is unclear. Political leaders have been vocal about the need for them, but some military commanders are not keen on a large Haredi army, which comes with a range of religious considerations.

The immediate impact of the decision will be primarily financial, cutting funding for yeshivas where draft-eligible men study, but the Haredi community will likely pick up the slack somehow, and it is expected that Haredi sects will continue to ignore draft notices and oppose compulsory military service.

Certainly, some Haredim have enlisted in the military because they feel that full-time Torah study is not for them, and some intend to do so, but the vast majority of Haredim would resist being forced to serve in the military.

This is not to say that they don’t value the military: Most Haredim, like other Israelis, are deeply grateful to those who serve in the military, mourn their losses, and are concerned about the rescue of those abducted by Hamas who are still alive.

Indeed, the hostages’ names and pleas for their release are projected onto a main street in Bnei Brak, a Haredi-majority city near Tel Aviv, and signs in Yiddish in Jerusalem’s Haredi neighborhood of Mea She’arim urge people to recite psalms and pray fervently for the hostages’ return.

Pamphlets with the hostages’ photos and names have been distributed throughout the Haredi community, offering everyone in the community the opportunity to “adopt” them until they are returned.

But being forcibly removed from study hall is not something Haredi men think about, and the reasons for it are rarely explained, much less appreciated.

The underlying reason for the Haredi resistance has nothing to do with fear for their lives — an accusation levelled at Haredim in general by some secularists who have long derided their religious brethren as “parasites” and “draft dodgers.”

To begin with, soldiers are not the only ones facing danger, as evidenced by the countless terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, including the major one on October 7. Moreover, some military personnel, such as intelligence analysts and drone pilots, work in safer environments, removed from the threats of the battlefield.

This latter fact is the most important, because the most important issue is equal dedication to the security of the nation. Every citizen should be expected to contribute to ensuring the security of the nation.

Therein lies the crux of the issue: Haredim believe deeply, strongly, and sincerely that religious devotion in the form of Torah study is as important to the security of Israel as the actions of an infantryman or an intelligence officer. In fact, it is a vital and essential part of Israel’s security.

Secular-minded people will surely ridicule this idea, but it is, and always has been, the most fundamental belief of the Haredim. For example, the Talmud states (Sanhedrin 49a): “If [King] David’s Torah Study, [his military commander] Joab would not have been successful in war, and without Joab’s efforts in battle, David would not have been able to learn Torah.”

So while Haredi men who choose not to pursue intensive Torah study will continue to enlist and serve, like many other men, men who see their role in life as contributing to Israel’s spiritual strength are unlikely to abandon that mission in the face of the Supreme Court’s decision.

Thus the anxiety and anger that arise from Haredi insistence on maintaining a sizable cadre of men dedicated full-time to Torah study needs to be tempered by the recognition that, at least in Haredi eyes, committed Jews are not fleeing public service but are contributing to it in ways that they sincerely believe are essential to the safety and security of all their fellow Jews.

The miracle of how the Jewish people have survived centuries of attacks, massacres, and attempted genocide is… a miracle indeed. Haredim believe miracles don’t just happen, they must be earned, and part of that earning is wholeheartedly embracing Jewish tradition and the study of Torah, which has always been at the center of it.

Rabbi Avi Shafran has written widely in Jewish and mainstream media, served as communications director for Agudath Israel of America, and is a columnist for Ami Magazine.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.