Poll shows modest majority of ultra-Orthodox Jews open to IDF enlistment with more separate military tracks

Read this article in:

A survey of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim in Hebrew) taken on July 3-4 showed that a majority (72%) are opposed to drafting all eligible young Haredim into the Israeli military. A smaller majority (59%), however, indicated that enlistment numbers could improve if Israel Defense Forces created more programs that allow them to maintain their religious lifestyle during military service.

Furthermore, 21% said that they were in favor of the draft as long as those studying full-time in yeshivas were exempted, while only 1% said that they supported enlisting all ultra-Orthodox 18-year-olds.

A poll conducted by Smith Consulting, presented to the Knesset State Control Committee last week, surveyed 450 Haredim to gauge ultra-Orthodox public opinion following the High Court of Justice's landmark ruling last month. This ruling found that the exemption of Haredi men from the IDF draft lacked legal basis, overturning decades of unofficial draft exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students.

Hours after the court ruling, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered the government to begin drafting ultra=Orthomen as of July. The government was also ordered to immediately halt the transfer of funds to yeshivas, schools of religious studies.

Haredi leaders and politicians condemned the court ruling as an attack on Torah study.

“Even someone who doesn’t study in a yeshiva is not allowed to enlist in the IDF,” said the head of Shas’ Torah Sages Council, which decides on the party’s policy, Rabbi Moshe Maya.

“Whoever goes to the army today will come out as someone who desecrates the Sabbath. Enlisting in the army is a religious violation. We have a clear law that tells us that a yeshiva member is not allowed to enlist in the army. If they enter the yeshiva halls to recruit us – we will oppose it. It’s like being forced into desecrating the Sabbath.”

Senior rabbis affiliated with the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party forbade Haredim to obey enlistment orders. Last month, thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews from the radical “Jerusalem Faction,” protested recruitment with some throwing rocks and clashing with local police.

Protesters carried signs with slogans like, “We will not enlist in the enemy army,” and, “We would rather die than enlist.”

Earlier this year, Knesset Member Moshe Roth from UTJ said Haredim are concerned that enlistment will lead to secularization. He argued that the IDF needs to be “more open and flexible” in creating an appropriate environment for religious soldiers, including more units like the all-male, strictly kosher Nahal Haredi.

Another example of a specifically ultra-Orthodox IDF unit is the “Hetz” (arrow) company. As part of the 202nd Battalion of the regular Paratroopers Brigade, the company has been active almost continuously since operations began in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Defense Ministry announced it will launch an “information campaign for the ultra-Orthodox population” next month, showing the various “service paths adapted to the ultra-Orthodox in the IDF.”

Between 63,000 - 67,000 ultra-Orthodox young men are potentially eligible to be enlisted, but only a small percentage are expected to be called up this year.

According to Israel Hayom, “The IDF aims to draft an additional 3,000 soldiers between this July and next July, on top of the 1,800 it had already planned to enlist (based on a very lenient definition of who qualifies as Haredi). A similar number is projected for the following cohort of draftees. In essence, 9,600 men will be inducted over two annual cohorts, which constitutes one-third of the Haredi men turning 18 during this period…This is significantly fewer than the 63,000 Haredi men currently within the conscription age range of 18 to 26.”