Israel has allowed ultra-orthodox Jews to avoid military service from its refounding in 1948 (and even a bit before). It rapidly became a political question with the rise of religious political parties in Israel’s parliamentary system. Since it was almost impossible to win an outright majority, Israeli political parties cobbled together coalitions, and even small, seemingly inconsequential parties became powerful as the last few votes to achieve a parliamentary majority.
And those tiny parties who represented the ultra-orthodox had very few demands, but one was to maintain the status quo that they were exempt from military service, in particular those who were studying in Yeshivas (religious schools). And yes, that quickly became a boondoggle, with government funding of those schools coupled with direct support payments to the students.
Here is a timeline: Development of the Haredi Exemption Law.
The current law, and judicial activism, has mostly made them eligible for the draft, but there has been no wholesale drafting or upholding of the law. The situation is an absolute mess, with 67,000 Haredi men legally defined as draft dodgers, and upwards of 110,000 in total.
The army must soon begin enlisting ultra-Orthodox men. How will that work? Here’s the short answer: it won’t.
America saw the caustic effects of wholesale draft dodging and obscenely lenient deferment policies during the Vietnam War. For the first time in our history, a wartime draft allowed large numbers of the affluent and the politically connected to avoid service. Whether that was one of the foundational systems that contributed to our current malaise is debatable, but a powerful argument can be made that a multi-tiered draft that allows healthy young men to avoid service is a corrosive and destructive influence on society. While our current all-volunteer armed force is superb, if we ever need to reinstate the draft, the current system will magnify the great divide between wealth and influence on one side, and the mostly silent majority of Americans. We have had enough of that in the last 60 years, and we certainly don’t need more!
That destruction of unity and the magnification of political privilege is dangerous in a large country such as America. But in Israel, which is small, surrounded by enemies, and has fought constantly since 1947, that divide is far more dangerous. Israel is an amazingly patriotic country, and among a large majority of its citizens, the obligation to serve in some capacity is seen not as an onerous intrusion upon life, but an important part of being an Israeli.
And there is the rub! Those exemptions for many ultra-orthodox are grating, because the ultra-orthodox enjoy all of the privileges of Israeli society, but avoid any of the responsibilities. And in reality they are supported by the state at higher levels than the typical Israeli, via those support payments and government funding of religious schools.
But what is the most damning statistic is that up to one-third of the ultra-orthodox do serve in some capacity … military or national civilian service. And that suggests that the rationale behind draft evasion (and that is exactly what it is) has less to do with religious principles and more to do with political outlook and simple, craven desire.
More than 1,000 people were murdered on October 7th, 2023, and more than 1,300 soldiers have been killed in the war against Hamas, Hezbollah and others. Those soldiers died to protect all of Israel, and the refusal of large numbers of young men to participate in the defense of the country that supports them and keeps them safe is an untenable situation that must change.
We see in many parts of America the result of the loss of patriotic spirit and simple love of country … the idea that some groups are evil and beyond acceptance, even though they are Americans! And the disconnect between patriotism and a sense of shared responsibility for the welfare of the country and its people has manifested in many ways…all destructive. Perhaps worse is the rejection of our form of government, in spite of its obvious success.
Israel is not as far down that road as we are, but the repercussions are existential for a country its size and in that neighborhood. Of course it is entirely possible that our own issues will result in the Balkanization of America, or perhaps something worse, but that will take time, and that is a luxury that Israel does not have.