The War Against Israel From the Haredi Rabbis

 

HAREDI RABBIS - COURTESY WIKIPEDIA

The Jewish people are at war. But not just with Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or the ever-hostile international media. A quieter, more insidious front runs through the streets of Bnei Brak and Meah Shearim—an ideological and theological war waged not by outsiders, but from within, by segments of the Haredi rabbinic leadership. And while the IDF faces rockets and tunnels, the State of Israel must also contend with an entrenched rabbinic opposition that undermines its legitimacy, rejects its sovereignty, and sows confusion among the very people it claims to protect.

At the heart of this rabbinic opposition lies a fundamental belief: that the modern State of Israel is not the atchalta d’geulah (beginning of the redemption), but a dangerous, secular rebellion against God’s plan. Many Haredi rabbis, influenced by the teachings of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, and others, argue that only the coming of Mashiach can herald true Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Until then, they claim, any Jewish state established through human effort—especially by secular Zionists—is spiritually illegitimate.

To this day, prominent Haredi leaders refuse to recognize Yom HaAtzmaut, omit prayers for the state or the soldiers defending it, and openly deride Zionist ideology in yeshiva classrooms. When the IDF calls upon them for shared sacrifice, they respond with protests, pashkevilim, and mass draft dodging under the banner of Torah protection.

The problem isn’t simply that the Haredi rabbis disagree with the secular founders of the state. Disagreement is the Jewish tradition. The danger lies in how that theology has been weaponized against the Jewish people. While Israeli soldiers fight and die in Gaza to prevent pogroms in Sderot and Tel Aviv, these rabbis portray the army as a spiritual danger to their youth. 

While the state funds their yeshivot, subsidizes their communities, and protects their cities, their spokesmen describe the state as an existential threat to Judaism itself.

This is not theological purity—it’s theological sabotage. And in wartime, it’s treachery.

Imagine a secular Israeli citizen refusing to pay taxes because he doesn’t believe in the Torah. He would be condemned—by the same Haredi leaders—for endangering national unity. And yet, these same leaders claim a right to opt out of national defense, national mourning, and national celebration because of their religious views.

This is not just hypocrisy—it is a dangerous double standard. The state exists to serve all its citizens, but it cannot survive if whole sectors reject its legitimacy, its laws, and its burdens while demanding its funding and protections.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the war waged by these rabbis is done in the name of Torah. They claim that their separation from the state is holy, that their refusal to serve is for the sake of Torah study, that their protests are righteous defiance. But true Torah, as Rav Kook taught, cannot be separated from the fate of the Jewish people. True Torah demands that we defend our brethren, that we share responsibility, and that we sanctify God’s name not by retreat, but by engagement with the world.

There is nothing pure about a Torah that watches Jews die and calls it divine punishment. There is nothing holy about studying Daf Yomi while the soldier next door buries his son. Torah that ignores the suffering of klal Yisrael is not Torah—it’s self-preservation dressed in black and white.

The war against Israel waged by some Haredi rabbis is not just a matter of policy—it is a spiritual distortion that must be confronted. Those who love Torah and love Israel must say so clearly: Torah is not an excuse to avoid sacrifice. Torah does not belong to those who flee the fight. And Torah cannot be the voice of silence when Jewish blood is spilled in defense of our homeland.

This is a time for courage—not only on the battlefield, but in our batei midrash as well. The future of Israel depends not only on tanks and drones, but on reclaiming the soul of Torah from those who use it to undermine the Jewish state. This is a war Israel must win, too.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-war-against-israel-from-the-haredi-rabbis/