Q&A: The Price of Drafting Religious and Haredi Jews into the IDF
The Price of Drafting Religious and Haredi Jews into the IDF
Question
If statistics show that the largest percentage of those who leave religion do so דווקא during the three army years (perhaps even you yourself were among them), how do you answer a Haredi person who argues that if this is the price of drafting into the IDF, then it is simply better not to enlist so that as many people as possible remain observant of Torah and commandments?
Answer
I have answered this many times. I’ll answer briefly.
I have explained more than once that these statistics are not worth much on the factual level. But even if it were true, that would not exempt anyone from going into the army. Right now we are in a situation of danger to life, and there is an obligation to enlist, and that is not set aside because of a doubtful future concern (and in my view, not even a certain one). There is also a concern that he might die in the army—does that exempt him from enlistment? Of course, if the Haredim want to deal with this concern, they are welcome to organize frameworks suited to the Haredi soldier, which of course they do not do and do not dream of doing, and even when such frameworks are created for them, they do not come.
Discussion on Answer
Hi Rabbi Michi,
I don’t really have a specific question here or anything,
but I’d be happy if you’d give your opinion, or at least some response, to Rabbi Feivelson’s talk (one of the honest and intelligent rabbis in Haredi public life, at least among those I know) regarding the drafting of Haredim.
It is a bit embarrassing to respond to such contemptible arguments, so I’ll do so briefly.
A. As for the statistics (for some reason I can’t find the column right now where I explained this in detail), secularization is the reason a Haredi person gets to the army, not something that happens to him there. Just look at what happens to students of Merkaz HaRav or to hesder yeshiva boys who enlist. Beyond that, when those to whom fear of Heaven is important do not enlist, then the ones who do enlist are those for whom it matters less, and naturally the secularization rate comes out high. That is not a result but a cause. Beyond that, have you checked secularization among those who evade the draft? But as I said, even if the statistic were correct, that still would not exempt one from military service.
B. This is simply wicked. There is no danger to life because others are dying for you. I am amazed anew every time I hear this wicked and foolish argument. And what if all the religious people were not to enlist because of that same concern—then there would be no danger to life either? Or perhaps the lives of the Religious Zionists do not matter?
C. It is not hard to decide, not at all. If that is what is needed, then that is what is needed, even if there is a 50% chance of dying. Otherwise everyone dies. The comparison is completely precise.
D. I hope you understood what you wrote there, because I didn’t.
All right, I’m done. I am not willing to keep responding to such a collection of stupid and wicked arguments.
YOYO, I do not accept riddles here. If you do not have a question, then do not ask.
*** Deleted. My patience for words of folly and wickedness has run out. That’s it. ***
If 30% of those who enlisted were being killed, we would have to pack our bags and leave the Middle East. Sacrificing a third of the public in order to live in the Land of Israel is folly and wickedness together.
A. I don’t know why the statistics are not factually worthwhile. If surveys show serious leaving of religion in the army, then that should be taken seriously. One can of course decide that people should enlist despite the fact that many will leave religion, but it has to be discussed deeply before making such a decision. Right now no serious discussion is taking place. The Haredi representatives (Pindrus and Deri) reflected this, and their argument is strong.
B. There is no real danger to life here. We will survive without drafting Haredim, and the worst is behind us. And even when the worst was still ahead of us, we survived without Haredim too. I do not believe that drafting Haredim—which would reduce the burden on the other sectors—is worth it if the price will be, say, 30% secularization.
If we know that 3 out of 10 will leave religion, why not save souls (spiritually) from being lost?
Is it desirable for there to be a lower percentage of Jews who are essentially Jewish (commandment-observant)?
C. The comparison to a soldier who may die is misplaced. If we knew there were a 30% probability of death, it really might be harder to decide on drafting. The probability of a soldier dying is lower by orders of magnitude. I am convinced that operations are postponed if there is a 30% chance that the soldiers will die. You can’t compare apples to stones, and you can’t make comparisons that are convenient for your theory but factually wrong.
D. A Haredi-military framework is a good idea in potential. But it is not empirical, and we do not know what the percentage of those who leave religion in such frameworks would be. So here I am in favor, but with reservations until there are statistics and indications.