I agree with the Haredi point of view. I think that Torah study is an extremely important value and Israel as a Jewish state ought to promote it. And yes, Torah study ought to free young men from military service and the government should even subsidize their livelihood.

My problem is not the Haredi ideology. My problem is that the Haredim do not take it seriously enough. My tax shekels enable young scholars to learn Torah. I pay them willingly, but they are not learning—not seriously, not systematically, not the way it should be in exchange for public funds. I am peeved because I am not getting the proper return on my investment.

Walk into any major yeshiva, such as the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which purportedly has 4,000 students. There is a complete lack of organization and supervision. Students come and go as they please. Sometimes they come in for an hour or two and sometimes not at all.

Walk into any Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak or even Beit Shemesh, and what you see is young men who theoretically should be in the Beit Midrash going to and fro, some taking care of their children, others doing business deals or working surreptitiously.

Some estimates put the rate of actual engagement in Torah study as low as 50% of the population for whom “Torah study is their calling.”