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    Haredi society in Israel must stop evading national responsibility

    Pabio Posted on

    A few weeks ago, after a particularly stifling period, I took a plane with my family to get a breath of fresh air. A few months earlier, my nephew was killed in Gaza. Three months later, his father died. In the background, it was a year filled with reserve service, with all that entails. During a rare time when everyone was home between deployments, we took the opportunity to fly.

    At the Verona airport, just before we boarded our flight home, my son called. “We have just been called urgently. I am on my way to bring our northern brothers home,” he said. Ten minutes later I received another call. My son-in-law had also been called and was on his way to Lebanon. Before leaving, he asked if anyone could take his pregnant wife – our daughter, nine months old – home.

    I open this column with our personal story for two reasons. First, it is completely natural to start with one’s own experiences and difficulties. Second, because our history is clear and simple: we have no career soldiers, nor commanders in special units, nor anyone serving on active duty. We are simply reserve soldiers of the working class. We have nephews scattered everywhere where the IDF fights: in Gaza, Jenin, in Lebanon.

    In the past, when mapping the location of Religious Zionism on the Israeli spectrum, I thought we were in the middle. Secular Zionism was on one side and ultra-Orthodox Judaism was on the other. One side aligned with us in its support of the IDF, and the other in its commitment to Torah and Jewish identity.

    Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators hold signs as they protest against conscription into the Israeli army, August 5, 2024. (credit: Via Maariv)

    After a year of war, the behavior of the ultra-Orthodox public and its leaders during one of Israel’s darkest periods has disrupted this balance. When we are in distress, bombed and our lives are threatened, and the secular kibbutznik fights alongside us while the haredi apologizes for countless reasons, everything becomes clear.

    Imagine a building on fire where one neighbor brings a fire extinguisher, another runs with a bucket, a third sprays water with a hose, but the neighbor in apartment 13 on the fourth floor just sits there and explains why he can’t help. Is this a neighbor anyone would want to have?

    One of our nephews fell in combat. Another was airlifted to hospital after an anti-tank missile hit his vehicle. Others left behind wives and children, spending hundreds of days in reserve duty this year. This year, new sectors have emerged in Israeli society: those who give and those who take; those who sleep peacefully and those who cannot sleep at all.

    Last week, in two days, two members of Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek sacrificed their lives to defend the country: Sergeant Ido Ben Tzvi, 21, and First Sergeant (reserve) Guy Idan, father of two children, 51 years old. be able to help. Yet the secular kibbutzniks stand side by side with us in battle, while the ultra-Orthodox apologize.

    I share what is happening in my small family unit and I am sure that our story is similar to that of many Israelis. My grandson, born two months before October 7, saw me more than his father. My granddaughter didn’t dance with her father on Simchat Torah and hasn’t heard from him in a week because her phone is in a box with those of the other soldiers. Before leaving for Lebanon, my son-in-law recorded his good morning, good night and “home from daycare” videos.

    This unrelenting reality is the reality for countless Israeli families. Although it may seem like we’re complaining, we’re not. We are at war. But the idea that there is a large group that thinks none of this concerns them and that they don’t need to participate in our efforts is infuriating.

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    Not a single leader of the ultra-Orthodox community stood up and shouted: “Gentlemen, Israel is in distress and Jewish blood is flowing like water. We cannot ignore this. This moral void is deeply disturbing.

    Two weeks ago, Racheli Malek Buda interviewed three reserve families in Makor Rishon. One wife recalled that her husband had written his will just hours before entering Gaza. Another woman described how she would wake up frightened, checking the peephole in the middle of the night, unsure whether the sounds were wind or something more disturbing.

    A nation is tested not only by the resilience of those on the battlefield, but also by the support of those on the home front. Those who believe they have the luxury of detachment during this time of crisis fail this test.

    The absence of a single ultra-Orthodox leader standing up to say, “We cannot remain spectators” is deeply disheartening. The few voices of religious Zionism who, like the people interviewed by Racheli Malek Buda, consider participation in the struggles of the state as a Jewish obligation, are eclipsed by a political leadership which seems ready to tolerate this detachment in the name of the stability of the coalition.

    Commitment to the Jewish State

    Religious Zionism has, at its core, a sacred commitment to Israel and the Jewish people – a commitment reflected in the sacrifice of its soldiers who fall defending the state. This war, however, has revealed a divide: on one side are those who respond to the call of the state, whatever the personal cost, and on the other, those who refuse, indifferent to the sacrifices made.

    In recent days, a group of ultra-Orthodox politicians gathered in Bnei Brak for a prayer rally, ostensibly showing solidarity with the fallen soldiers and the return of the hostages. For many, the instinctive response was to feel gratitude for this support. But on reflection, the presence of leaders who, on the whole, have did not serve in the Israeli army or made tangible sacrifices, is troubling. Their “solidarity” in a comfortable auditorium seemed detached from the realities facing the families who have borne the brunt of this war.

    It is not enough to offer well-meaning prayers from a distance while others carry the burden on the front lines. If you really want to help, don’t just pray: you take action. You stand with your fellow citizens not only in spirit but also in deed, as do kibbutzniks, secular Israelis and religious Zionists.

    The idea that Torah study alone justifies abstention from national defense is an illusion. Israel’s situation demands real and shared responsibility. When rockets are launched or enemies advance, those who believe in the sanctity of the Torah should understand that service in the Israeli army is not just an option but a sacred duty. The ultimate message must be clear: in Israel, everyone contributes, everyone serves, everyone fights for each other. Those who choose to serve should be honored, while those who do not should not be entitled to state benefits.

    As former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion once said: “If they give, they will receive; if they don’t give, they won’t get anything. The State of Israel has a duty to those who serve, to the families left behind, to ensure that everyone knows the difference between contributing and not. If the ultra-Orthodox community chooses to forgo military service, they should not expect privileges, benefits, or preferential treatment.

    The responsibility to share the burden should not fall only on those who are willing to serve. Religious Zionism, which holds both Torah and national duty in high esteem, must assert its principles more forcefully. This is not about partisan politics or power struggles. This is about ensuring that in times of crisis, the people of Israel remain united, side by side, sharing equally in the sacrifices required to ensure the nation’s security.

    For further comments or inquiries contact: Kalman Liebskind at [email protected]



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