Ultrathodox enlistment advocate suggests housing benefits for army service

As thousands of Haredim protest against Israel’s draft law and block roads, a new proposal seeks to link military service with solving part of the housing crisis. Ariel Menashe, head of the “Forum of Integrating Haredim” and a former official responsible for Haredi enlistment at the Jerusalem draft office, argues that the real barrier to enlistment is economic rather than ideological.

Menashe says the state should offer major housing incentives, especially help toward buying an apartment, to encourage Haredi youth to join the IDF. He says he already helped enlist about 1,000 Haredi young men and claims the government is speaking mainly with community representatives and power brokers instead of with the young people themselves. “The Haredi boys know how to think for themselves,” he said. “They understand the reality and their own needs very well.”

According to Menashe, many young Haredim fear not the army itself, but life after discharge, especially the difficulty of starting a family and buying a home. He says that today, “a boy who does not enlist receives more than a Haredi boy who enlisted,” which he sees as a perverse incentive.

Menashe has been promoting the idea for the past year with developers and businesspeople. He says the plan would connect service with a path to building equity, entering the workforce and eventually the real-estate market. He also said the wider public does not understand the internal changes in Haredi society, where a younger generation is asking questions and looking for ways to integrate without losing its identity, often through private family and community discussions. He wants enlistees to be seen not as outcasts, but as Israelis who are valued and given practical tools for life after service.