Friday, February 24, 2012

Secular arguments for abolishing Chareidi exemption from military service

Haaretz by Nechemiah Strasler

If we had real leaders, they would stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes and tell us the truth to our faces - that everyone has to serve in the army. With no exceptions. It is no longer possible to continue with the Haredi cowardice and evasion. It is not possible to continue with a situation in which only Haredi mothers are able to sleep well at night. Or, as Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said this week: "From a civilian and moral point of view, I am deeply and profoundly perplexed why all of the public does not have to participate in being exposed to sacrifice. This echoes the words of Moses: 'Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?'"

The answer to Rubinstein (and to Netanyahu, Barak, Livni and Lapid ) is clear. The ultra-Orthodox activists know it well. The Haredi public also understands. They know that Haredi activists deliver the most important goods to them - their lives. They know that military funerals never leave from Bnei Brak, that there are no Haredi wounded in Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and no shell-shocked men in Ramat Beit Shemesh. From their point of view, let the secular donkey and the religious fool continue to sacrifice their lives in order to protect those who are better than others, the yeshiva students.

6 comments:

  1. The Kohen used to tell those going out to war that if anyone fears for their life because of their sins, they should go home.

    Charedim know, deep-down inside, that they do not have any merits to preserve their lives in military service.

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  2. The truth is the current formula works. Some Jews learn. Other Jews fight. If everyone fights, the quality of learning decreases. If everyone learns, the quality of fighting decreases.

    You need both learners and fighters. It doesn't seem fair, but the formula has kept the state alive and Judaism alive. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

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  3. Is this lady being paid by Charedim to make Ha'aretz and co. look stupid? Her article is *that* bad

    "Avi said...
    Charedim know, deep-down inside, that they do not have any merits to preserve their lives in military service."

    That's one of the most original pieces of nonsense I've ever read.

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  4. <The truth is the current formula works. Some Jews learn. Other Jews fight. If everyone fights, the quality of learning decreases. If everyone learns, the quality of fighting decreases.

    You need both learners and fighters. It doesn't seem fair, but the formula has kept the state alive and Judaism alive. If it's not broke, don't fix it.<

    What are you talking about? Are you aware that the yeshivas all went home for vacation during the most recent war?

    What does that tell you?

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  5. Good article, I think.

    Those who make the "some fight some learn" argument have never been in a charedi neighborhood at a time of war.

    Here's what happens, in my experience: Those with foreign passports (who have been taking gov't money for years) flee the country and kollel after kollel goes dark. The Israeli avreichim listen to the news all day, debating what will happen next.

    As far as learning, not a heck of a lot goes on.

    Even I, no fan of the charedi world (although a part of it), was astonished.

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  6. Shlomo said...

    Those who make the "some fight some learn" argument have never been in a charedi neighborhood at a time of war

    That's correct, I haven't

    Here's what happens, in my experience: Those with foreign passports (who have been taking gov't money for years) flee the country and kollel after kollel goes dark. The Israeli avreichim listen to the news all day, debating what will happen next.

    Who, exactly? The Israeli's, as you allude to, can't leave,and the American's- from very personal experience- give a heck of a lot more to the economy than they recieve from a broken meuchedet system.

    "Even I, no fan of the charedi world (although a part of it), was astonished."

    I'm not sure I get your chiddush. If you're not a fan of the system, why is it a surprise that you're upset about their perceived lack of learning?
    BTW, which war(s) have you been in Yeshiva for and which Yeshivos did you attend? Seriously, this stuff varies very widely from place to place. Mir isn't Brisk which isn't R Tzvi which isn't R Dovid etc.

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