Israel’s own religious war intensifies in the fight against Hamas

Another shot has been fired in the ongoing internal war in Israel.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim, must join the Israel Defense Forces for the first time and that male Haredim will no longer receive government subsidies to study Jewish texts in yeshivas (schools) and adult study centers (kollels).

The ruling – and the immediate pledge by some Haredi Jews to disregard it – underscores Israel’s internal struggle between secular and religious forces. The country has been waging war against Hamas since the October 7 attacks in Gaza and faces a deepening conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas on its northern border.

“One thing is certain: not a single yeshiva student will abandon his studies to join the army if forced to do so,” said Rabbi Heshy Grossman. Newsweek via WhatsApp after the verdict. “We believe that the Supreme Court has exceeded its mandate and should not assume authority over matters of religious life.”

The dispute revolves around an exemption from the founding of the State of Israel 76 years ago that allowed certain Haredi men to avoid general conscription.

Instead of donning olive-green uniforms after graduating from school, as their secular peers – men and women – are required to do as conscripts, these newly minted men wear dark suits, white shirts, round headgear made of black felt (kippot), and large black hats, ranging from fedoras to large beaver-skin headgear, depending on the occasion and sect.

The judges reached their decision unanimously. Acting Court President Uzi Vogelman said: “In the midst of a grueling war, the burden of inequality is greater than ever and demands a solution.”

According to Israel Haaretz According to a newspaper, the law that allowed yeshiva students to evade military service was due to expire at the end of March. The possibility of an extension was the reason for the petition by both citizens’ initiatives and 240 private individuals.

Since the war with Hamas began on October 7, 666 Israeli soldiers have died and nearly 4,000 have been wounded, according to government figures. Many thousands of reserve soldiers have been called up, further increasing tensions between the Haredim and the rest of Israel.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed. It does not keep a separate count of how many of the dead were Hamas members.

“We are not necessarily Israelis,” Grossman said during an afternoon in the yeshiva where he has an office. “We do not automatically believe that Israel is right.”

“What good is your prayer?”

Many Israelis seem to agree with the Haredim that their lack of service sets them apart from others. Families of hostages still held in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack condemned the Haredim without prompting for their lack of service.

“What good are your prayers?” asks Yosef Jucha Engel, the grandfather of Ofir Engel, who was held in Gaza for over 50 days. “Where was God on October 7?”

And among the religious, only the Haredim, who make up 12.5 percent of Israel’s population, do not serve, even though their birth rate is growing rapidly, at seven children per woman.

Grossman sees himself and his movement as a continuation of a millennia-old tradition. The secular state of Israel is an infant – and its foundation on secular, not religious, principles makes it clearly imperfect.

Grossman expressed interest in a compromise with the more secular state. He said the Haredim simply cannot change what the secular state demands most of them: exemption from military conscription.

“Let us raise our children,” he said. “Give us our yeshivas.”

And that is precisely what the rest of Israel does not want, according to polls. Non-Haredi Israelis speak of an increasingly fragile military, a need for more soldiers – and that the rapidly growing Haredi population is a strain on resources.

According to the non-governmental organization Hiddush, which advocates for religious freedom and equality in Israel, 97 percent of non-Haredi Israelis would abolish religious exemption from military service altogether.

The decision to allow a small number of men to devote their lives exclusively to Torah study was made just a few years after the Holocaust and affected a few hundred. Today, tens of thousands spend their lives doing so. The yeshiva is followed by the kollel, where married men receive a scholarship so that they can study undisturbed.

Their wives earn additional money by working in a variety of jobs and have an average of seven children each.

When asked whether the Haredim had a responsibility to protect the secular state, Grossman’s answer was clear.

“That’s not our strength,” he said.

Those in yeshivas and collectives do not know how to work in the material world and are not designed for it. These things are for other people, he said.

Grossman’s views are not shared by all Haredim. Some say they must continue to immerse themselves in their studies because their prayers are what make Israel’s continued existence possible.

Grossman suggested a possible compromise.

“Not everyone goes to yeshiva,” he said, meaning that Haredim who don’t can serve there. In fact, 10 percent of Haredim volunteer to serve, according to Reuters.

When asked about Haredi women, Grossman chuckled slightly and suggested that separate-sex units where sex before marriage is not possible might be fine.

“We Haredi have a siege mentality,” Grossman said. “There is no trust between us” and the rest of Israeli society. “Everyone is trying to win. They want us to stop having children! What do you want?”

Many non-Haredi Israelis fear that they will soon be outnumbered in their own country.
“From their point of view, they are right,” Grossman said.

Some Israelis wonder what would happen if the Haredim were in the majority and could impose their views from a position of power. Among other things, the Haredim hold views that do not align with those of the majority of Israeli society. They oppose LGBTQ rights, oppose premarital sex, and believe that the Sabbath must be strictly observed, which would mean that the entire country would have to be largely closed on Saturdays.

“We don’t want to take over the leadership of this country,” he said. “That’s not what we can do.”

Still, he added: “If the time came, I don’t know what would happen.”