You cannot run a First World country with Third World participation.
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| The solution is not to abandon the Haredim or to marginalize them - This is political gangsterism hiding behind a black hat |
Israel is being hollowed out from within—not by Hezbollah or Hamas, but by a growing faction of its own people: the Haredim. What began as a small community of Holocaust survivors clinging to their traditions has morphed into a politically powerful, economically dependent, and willfully irresponsible subculture that rejects the very idea of shared national responsibility. This is not an issue of religious freedom—it is a matter of national survival.
The Haredi population, currently about 13–15% of Israeli society, is growing rapidly due to high birth rates. Projections suggest they could constitute 25% or more of the population within a generation. Yet, most Haredi men do not serve in the IDF, do not participate meaningfully in the labor force, and depend disproportionately on state subsidies while refusing to teach basic subjects like math, English, and civics in their schools.
This creates a simple, unsustainable equation: fewer citizens carrying the burden of more dependents who do not share in national defense or economic productivity.
Haredi political parties wield disproportionate influence in Israel’s coalition system. They use this leverage to secure billions in funding for their institutions, protect draft exemptions, and block reforms to education and military service. Successive Israeli prime ministers—from Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu—have empowered these factions in exchange for political stability.
But stability built on appeasement has a cost: it weakens national unity, undermines rule of law, and alienates the secular and national-religious majority.
The claim that Torah study protects Israel like the army does is nonsense article of faith in the Haredi world. But faith alone cannot staff a hospital, defend a border, or build an economy.
No God-fearing Jew should believe that prayer exempts responsibility for action. Rambam (Maimonides) clearly stated that Torah scholars must not shirk civic duty or demand that the public support them unless they are truly exceptional. The blanket exemption of tens of thousands of able-bodied men is not supported by halakhic sources—it is a modern political fiction.
Israel’s high-tech economy thrives on education, innovation, and global integration. The Haredi community largely rejects all three. With low employment rates among men, a refusal to teach core curriculum, and a mindset of isolation from the broader world, the community is locking itself—and the country—into a dangerous future of poverty, dependence, and resentment.
The solution is not to abandon the Haredim or to marginalize them. It is to demand reform—real, enforceable, and fair. Mandatory National or Civil Service for all, including Haredi men.Core Curriculum Requirements in all schools receiving state funds.Gradual Reduction of Subsidies to encourage workforce participation. Inclusion, Not Isolation—creating pathways for Haredim to enter society without sacrificing faith.
Israel must ask itself: can it afford to have a growing minority that refuses the responsibilities of citizenship while enjoying its privileges? Can it remain a democracy if one group is allowed to operate outside its civic framework?This is not about hating religion or disrespecting Torah. This is about building a sustainable, ethical, and united Jewish state.The time has come to say: enough. Not with anger, but with clarity. The burden of sacrifice must be shared. The future of Israel depends on it.
The Haredi man who studies Talmud all day while his secular brother patrols the Gaza border is not a holy martyr—he is a draft-dodger cloaked in sanctimony. The yeshiva student who refuses to work, collect job skills, or pay taxes is not preserving Judaism—he is leeching off of it. Let’s be clear: the Haredi leadership is not interested in “coexistence.” It is interested in control.
Through decades of backroom coalition deals, Haredi parties have siphoned billions into their institutions while demanding ever more exemptions and special treatment. This is not religious accommodation—it is extortion.They hold the government hostage, threaten to bring it down if anyone dares suggest their sons should wear a uniform or learn algebra, and shout “persecution” anytime accountability is demanded. This is not Judaism. It is political gangsterism hiding behind a black hat. Haredim are the fastest-growing demographic in Israel.
They marry young, have large families, and are trained to reject the modern world. Within two generations, they could become a quarter or more of Israel’s population. If today’s trends continue, Israel will be a state where a secular, overtaxed, overburdened minority works, serves, and dies to support a fundamentalist majority that sees them as spiritually inferior.You cannot run a First World country with Third World participation.
You cannot win wars when a third of your men won’t fight. You cannot maintain democracy when a rising population doesn’t even believe in it.The claim that “Torah protects” is spiritual gaslighting. Nowhere in the Torah does it say you are exempt from defending your people. Rambam warned explicitly that anyone who avoids labor and lives off charity under the guise of piety “profanes the name of God.” The generation that fought in 1948 built the State of Israel with their hands and guns—while also learning Torah.
Today's Haredi leaders insult those heroes by teaching their students that personal holiness outweighs national duty. That is not Torah. It is cowardice in religious garb.
Israel must stop begging the Haredim to join the nation and start demanding it. No more blanket draft exemptions .No more public money for schools that refuse to teach math, science, and civics. No more subsidies for men who refuse to work.
No more fear of rabbinic blackmail.This is not religious persecution. It is national preservation.
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| REPUBLISHED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL |
The easy solution is to make a rule across the board - you didn't serve, you don't get any government benefits.
ReplyDeleteNot getting government benefits is a start - but don’t forget it’s still not fair that some people bleed and die and others just won’t get their Kollel stipend and other possible welfare benefits. Additionally, a much more sticky issue is how to treat the 1 million plus Muslim Israeli citizens whom the overwhelming majority don’t serve in the army. Are you for true the equality in the entire country or only for Jews? Additionally, should we cut off welfare benefits for the average secular Israeli who barely have children and aren’t helping keep the Jewish majority of the state. While I think that it’s morally abhorrent that the so called Charedim don’t, for the most part, serve in the army, they do help to ensure Israel can claim they’re a Jewish State and a democratic state. That’s important diplomatically to not allow unfriendly countries to justify their anti-Israel views. Milton Friedman was a genius in economics and it’s affect on human behavior. He championed moving the US from a draft system for the army to an all volunteer army and it worked. Maybe Israel should try a hybrid system to fill its army needs. Try to implement an all volunteer system with very generous pay which will come from lessening welfare benefits. If the army doesn’t fulfill its manpower requirements through the volunteer army system, then institute a draft. Just putting out another possible approach to deal with an exceedingly difficult situation and a true quagmire.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just about that. It's about the parasitical attitude - Israel is evil. Israel is a violation of God's will. Anyone who supports Israel is a heretic. Now, hand over that billion shekels because we deserve it. It's about encouraging a culture of ingratitude and selfishness lorded over by a bunch of old men who, if they had been born in Iran, would be called ayatollahs instead of rabbis.
ReplyDeleteThat simply has to end.