Israel’s ultra-Orthodox leaders failed. So they’re going to stick with Netanyahu

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox family and leadership await the top court’s decision on Tuesday.

He was not surprised that in his society those ruled by the court were not spared from military service.

They had expected this decision, knowing where it was headed, and some even expected a worse outcome.

The court also ruled that this position would not give importance to ultra-Orthodox education products and services, which is a minor point. For a society dependent on such backup. However, some ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim in Hebrew, feared that the court would impose dire restrictions on students from religious seminaries, yeshivas, who would not be admitted.

Despite everything, the court did not order such harsh consequences for the scholars. There is no indication that refuseniks will be prevented from resigning from the country. It seems unlikely that army jeeps, forced to lease the early life of the society, are going to grace the streets of Bnei Brak, the center of Israeli Haredim.

Since Israel’s status quo in 1948, Israeli early life has been characterized by resignation, except for Palestinian voters, who were considered an ultimatum and hard to recruit, and the Haredim, whose young men had to continue their religious education in school. Was appointed to military service.

At the end of the summer season, the law exempting Haredim from conscription expired. A few months later, on October 7, a Hamas-led attack and Israel’s war on Gaza began. Conflict fatigue required additional manpower, and pressure increased on the government to lease an estimated 63,000 yeshiva scholars for military service.

The ultra-Orthodox community has driven this effort with its perceptiveness. Even though the fighting on Gaza has intensified the problem, the Haredim have long been stuck in this Catch 22 situation, made worse by bad decisions and carelessness.

The apex court has been deciding petitions on the recruitment of Haredim for almost twenty years.

In the early years of Israel, there was once an informal work going on between the ultra-Orthodox and the status quo. Haredim wanted – and largely still want – to devote their lives to religion, free from concerns of status.

But, about twenty years ago, questions arose in the Israeli community about how equal all voters were under the law, arguments that weakened the agreement between the issue and the Haredim.

Critics of the Haredim wondered how all Israelis could be considered equal if some sent their children to the army, while others did not.

contradictory methods

The advent of this concept in discourse was accompanied by a basic position of ultra-Orthodoxy. The Haredi community struggled to agree on how to deal with the problem. Some argued for a pragmatic approach, while others were more radical.

Pragmatists believed in cooperating with the situation to a certain extent. He believed that the ultra-Orthodox needed to discuss the matter and even convened a drafting committee to explore ways to involve one of the leading Haredim. Although, truth be told, none of these resulted in any recruitment.

Behaviorists wanted to develop a facade of compliance, creating rules with the situation that would appear as if it would counter the core principle of equality. This effort resulted in the beginning of Netzah Yehuda, a battalion that was said to be ultra-Orthodox, but if truth be told it included a variety of disaffected early lifers, many of whom were not actually Haredi.

Behaviorists played the game by echoing the language of the demands of the situation. It was all a hoax.

The unconventional aspect chose resistance using a lot of arguments. Haredi rabbis predicted that if the Ultra-Orthodox performed according to the rules of the situation, abolition would ultimately succeed, thereby undoing the preparations already in place and causing significant damage to Ultra-Orthodox society. This argument has been fulfilled to some extent.

Others insisted that Haredim could be safe once harmony was maintained in an ultra-Orthodox society. Once there was uncertainty whether scholars from the elite yeshivas in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Ponevez would abstain from recruitment, additional marginalized communities, such as Mizrahi Jews in remote areas, could be recruited.

Even though almost all ultra-Orthodox families leaned against the practical aspect of the argument, they ultimately accepted the radicals, who refused to support any conscription laws and even pay lip service for the sake of principle Did.

Either way, as the mud settles on Tuesday’s decision, it has become clear that both the pragmatic and the radical have failed completely.

incompetent partner

Despite expectations of the court’s decision, the Haredim are very angry.

He assumed that the issues would go away otherwise the status quo would continue with a far-right executive, believing that each celebration would get what it wanted.

Settlers would find additional settlements in the marshy West Storehouse, parts of which would be annexed through the Israeli settlement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be successful in his fight against the judicial system and will prevail over corruption charges against him.

Meanwhile, the Haredim believed they would get an answer to the conscription condition, with Netanyahu bending the judicial machine to his will in addition to securing a larger budget ceiling for their communities.

In fact, this dream executive did not send a ship for Haredim. The right-wing coalition partners of the Haredi parties decided to temporarily figure out what they could do, while Netanyahu placed many obstacles in the way of the Haredi reaching their goals.

After this came 7th October. The population’s demand for mandatory military conscription of ultra-Orthodox soldiers grew rapidly, even if it is considered when secular, militarist and more leftist parties were in power between 2021 and 2022.

These days, even within the executive, ultra-conservative support for opposition to conscription legislation lacks.

Netanyahu has been unable to muster support for his Haredi allies because it clashes with the interests of those on the far right, who have suddenly become knights in shining armor for the militarists and liberals who have long resented the Haredim. To serve for a long time within the army.

The far-right parties are in a league: They want to save their government, but exempting the Haredim contradicts the vision they promote to their supporters.

The far-right narrative demands the continuation of guns and the sanctity of military service and whatever will create more squads that will explode more Palestinians.

The opposition disinterested camp sees this effort as an opportunity for the federal government but remains passive. Opposition parties are cleverly adept at shouting about Netanyahu’s many missteps, but not exchanging an untested idea or narrative to get to the bottom of the situation with the Haredim and convince them to vacate the ruling coalition. Can.

Netanyahu is the only political figure to change items on the board these days. Everyone else is busy reacting to him or dancing to his track, so depriving the stream executive of additional technology is imminent.

recipe for destruction

Despite the focus on recruitment, the Haredim factor extends beyond mere military provider. A more pressing concern is the budget for the Haredi community, as conscription deprives the ultra-Orthodox society of a de facto criminal ultimatum.

Alternatively, budgeting is a completely different topic. The Haredi community’s dependence on large-scale budgets is so significant that people would starve without that investment. The Haredim had never imagined themselves in such a position, especially not now below this executive.

The budget for Haredi tutorial courses is in jeopardy due to a clash with the Finance Ministry, led by far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich and legal professional Gen.

Haredi schooling values ​​are the lifeblood of their community, providing an unregulated and endless river of investment for many functions. On the other hand, disputes with the Finance Ministry are hindering the release of huge amounts.

Pressure on the ultra-Orthodox leadership in the wake of the conscription law and budget freeze could lead to a division of the federal government.

Reactions from Haredi political leaders to the court’s decision suggest that it is possible, albeit slight, that this government will repair significant education investments and pass a law exempting Haredim from conscription.

However, the malaise of ultra-conservative leadership may also outweigh their many alternative solutions within the executive.

These days, Haredi political management is significantly weaker than rabbinic, non-secular, and Torah management of society. Furthermore, the bond between the ultra-Orthodox and the alternative components of the mainstream executive coalition is now much more powerful than the oversight Haredi management has historically imposed on their flock.

Until now, the ultra-Orthodox have always distanced themselves from Israeli politics. He focused only on his own affairs and did not aspire to dialogue with the pillars of Israeli independence or constitutional problems. Now, they find themselves at the center of the Israeli political debate, which is problematic for them.

Cumulative recruitment of yeshiva scholars into the army is unrealistic nowadays. The Army is no longer available solely to care for the specific wishes of thousands of highly religious early-life children.

Meanwhile, a broad consensus has emerged among many members of the Israeli family, overcoming political barriers from right and left on the recruitment of the ultra-Orthodox. This consensus makes it difficult for them to pull themselves out of the flow.

At the same time, Haredim want to urgently find a solution with Smotrich’s Finance Ministry on schooling investments.

The worn-out forms of ultra-Orthodox society are incapable of politics and the Israeli community is no longer big enough to succeed in its goals. When these elements develop a dynamic that will break down the federal government, they may even brutalize each other.