A Professional Army, the Answer?

Imagine the State of Israel with fewer people. Would we have been wiped out? 1. Decades ago, when the country was small, there were far fewer soldiers, and yet these Jews knew how to defeat all the enemies around them and even establish a state against all odds. At some point, things went wrong. In the absence of faith, the guilt over being a “conquering people” arrived. Men of little faith who fought like lions rested on their laurels, secure and bored after reaching the final destination. After all, how much can one really cling to clumsy pleasures after sacrificing oneself like a saint? The result, a vacuum of boredom leading to sin, and in our case, thoughts of heresy and pangs of conscience over the righteousness of the path. “Oh, what have we done!” the thoughts began to gnaw, and the twisted solution was presented: peace, with those who have wanted to kill us from the dawn of history. Luckily, the “compulsory conscription law” allowed them to sacrifice the “sacrifices of peace” in the form of soldiers who very much wanted to help the Jewish people win, but whose hands were, relatively speaking, bound very tightly because of decisions made from above.

2. The state’s territory and borders remain more or less the same size, and technically they can be protected in a simple way that includes forceful deterrence. Jews knew how to fight well and win even when they were a handful against many enemies, but the “compulsory conscription law,” which provides manpower, changed the game and allowed destructive agendas to seep in. When there is quality human material to work with, one can yield to the dictates of the nations and fight in a certain way that is very dangerous. When there are not too many soldiers, one is “forced” to fight the way Jews fought against enemies for generations. In Israel too. The number of soldiers the army needs is determined by how decision-makers truly choose to fight. That is the whole story.

3. It is understandable why we are told that the IDF needs soldiers. Urgently, and without masses of haredi soldiers the country will be finished. But fairness also requires pausing for a moment and asking whether it is not time to say the simple truth: the tired story about drafting the haredim is a swollen red balloon, pointless and harmful to keep dealing with in the public sphere for decades. Every child knows it mainly serves vested interests and really, really does not serve the people themselves or the soldiers who sacrifice their lives. But just as the public falls for the temptations of the good life, shopping, and luxuries, and even takes out destructive loans for them, so it has fallen for generations into the traps designed by politicians and public figures hungry for attention. בדיוק like we all fall for the sweets near the checkout in the supermarket. Exactly.

4. This is nothing new. They have been throwing dust in the public’s eyes for generations with the story of drafting the haredim. What changed was the cynical and shameless use of the personal feelings and families of reserve soldiers, בעקבות the war, which refined the grains of dust even further. They are not here to care for the IDF and its soldiers, even if they are sure they are. Perhaps the intentions are good and sweet, but to truly fix things there is no choice but to do the hardest thing: look reality straight in the eye honestly and say, loudly and with great sadness, what everyone knows: the IDF failed in the real test. Despite the billions, the pensions, the strict discipline, and the “compulsory conscription law” that provides it with manpower, it failed to protect this people. That is the regrettable state of affairs. Very much so. Despite everything, it did not work. Therefore, we need a fundamental change such as a professional or semi-professional army, open to volunteers, that will be forced to do its job in a new and cold conceptual framework. Free of agendas of any kind. Security only, without gloves and without sophistry, for the benefit of all citizens and without a desire for the love of the world, which somehow never arrives. Like a business, according to security results, with a goal of zero percent risk, because that is the concept of security, even if we have somehow forgotten and gotten used to defense. Along the way, such an army would remove from us the red balloon story that has torn us apart for years, and on which is written “drafting the haredim,” until it bursts in the sun shining in the sky and is once again blown aloft. Drafting the haredim, until when?

5. A professional, smart, technological army, and the gradual and responsible abolition of the “compulsory conscription law,” would bring true equality. First of all, it would reward fighters above all. They would be able to remain in the army until retirement and devote themselves to their role, without endless reserve duty cycles. When there is no war, they would undergo training and serve in other roles. A professional army would take the sting out of exploiting the IDF for personal needs, such as advancing a secure career with a high price tag, and would prioritize competitive permanent-contract positions in every field where there is no risk and there is profit for the “employee,” like any business company. A professional army would recalibrate the ethos of volunteering; anyone who wanted to volunteer in it in a variety of home-front roles would receive a clean and pure aura because of that personal choice. Are the sense of collectivity and the national feelings worth clinging to the old system, or, as in every important field, is it time to upgrade, with broad political consent and מתוך the understanding that this is in the best interest of our home?

6. One problem does remain, however: such a professional army would send many public figures to think about how they can really help their audience be happier and love life, instead of wasting energy on hatred and finding scapegoats. It is time to stop quarreling over red balloons and start understanding what the country באמת needs: truth. Thinking outside the old box, from the root. That is what is done in times of crisis, if one truly wants to solve it.

The writer is a director-actor-journalist and creator of texts. Editor of “Gdalia’s Newsletter.” Due to the situation, his new films (“A Father with God,” “A House with God,” and others) are available to watch free of charge. For inquiries: gilinada@gmail.com