Haredi Community Faces Choice Between Military Service and Political Alignment Amid Israeli Security Debate
The ongoing debate over the conscription of Israel's Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community overlooks a broader question: whether Israel needs more soldiers due to genuine security threats or because of policies expanding settlements in the West Bank. Since the October 7 attacks, tensions between the Haredi community and much of Israeli society have intensified, rooted in long-standing political decisions that shaped the current realities of settlement expansion and Haredi exemptions from military service.
The article highlights that while the Haredi community receives significant public funding, many do not participate equally in the workforce or share the economic and civic burdens. Meanwhile, the settlement enterprise, which receives massive budgets, continues to expand aggressively, deepening Israeli control over the West Bank and increasing security demands on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This expansion creates a direct need for more troops to protect isolated settlements, checkpoints, and roads, a factor often ignored in public discourse.
The authors argue that the real issue is political: Israel must choose between continued annexation and control over millions of Palestinians or pursue political separation to reduce military burdens and conflict. They suggest the Haredi community could lead a new social partnership by embracing core education (Hebrew, English, math, sciences), integrating into the workforce, and participating in civilian national service instead of mandatory military service.
The article calls on Haredi leadership to reconsider its political alliances with right-wing figures promoting settlement expansion and instead commit to a new social contract that balances responsibility and contribution to Israeli society. In return, the state should halt policies that perpetuate endless military demands by expanding settlements. Ultimately, the authors emphasize that Israel needs fewer wars and less military strain, not just more soldiers.
This perspective challenges both the framing of the Haredi community as a societal threat and the unquestioned legitimacy of settlement policies, urging a comprehensive reevaluation of Israel’s security and social strategies.
