Ever since October 7th, the already painful and ugly fight over the sweeping exemption of Charedim from IDF service has become truly unbearable. But it is precisely because I support a draft of Charedim into the IDF with proper accommodations for lifestyle and religious needs that I think it's time for both sides to face some hard truths.
First, the army side. The IDF does claim to be doing everything possible to ensure accommodations for Charedi religious needs and professional development so they can provide for their families when they are discharged.
It sounds nice, but the IDF did the same - or claimed to - when religious Zionist units agreed to enlist as hesder or other units. Then the secular bug hit, as it always does, and the desire to force particularly devout soldiers to violate rules such as hearing women singing - which, agree or not, is something they consider a sin.
Deep down, many of those who scream the loudest for Charedim to shoulder the burden hate the fact that they do so and will stay as Charedim more than anything. We saw this with the vehement, white hot opposition to gender segregation for Charedi college students, and we will see it with all the gender advisors if Charedim draft en masse.
So Charedim have every right to be suspicious and call BS on this ostensible friendship among people who simply can't stand that Israel is less than 100% secular and socially liberal.
But the Charedi side is also full of it. We know from multiple anecdotes and serious data that thousands of Charedim are either not even registered with yeshivahs or don't really learn Torah at all.
The belief that all of Charedi society truly learns all day just isn't true, and certainly has not been true since yeshivah and gemara study went from being a select, elite phenomenon to a mass societal one.
Many of these dropouts or near dropouts likely commit multiple serious sins while on the street or just hanging out, and while they still wear the uniform - there's decreasingly less underneath. Serving time in a serious Charedi outfit, with the healthy social networks and yiddishkeit it could bring, could increase their observance of Torah. Not everything's about staying near home.
I don't claim to have a solution to the draft conundrum. But may I ask that both sides stop blatantly lying about their actual motives and realities?
