Bottom Shekel / Who's overseeing Haredi draft exemptions? (Nobody)
Every year, the IDF loses 13% of its potential draft, because of arrangement under Tal Law exempting Haredim who study Torah as a way of life - and do not work - from army service.
By Meirav ArlosoroffEvery year, the Israel Defense Forces loses 13% of its potential draft, because of the arrangement under the Tal Law exempting Haredim who study Torah as a way of life - and do not work - from army service.
By the year 2020, estimates the army, it will be losing 20% of its potential draft each year, because of the relatively faster growth of the Haredi population. Already, 60,000 ultra-Orthodox men who would otherwise have been drafted are studying in yeshiva: They will continue to get deferments each year until age 30 (at least ).
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Ultra-Orthodox men studying in yeshiva. |
| Photo by: Micha Odenheimer |
The army never liked the exemption for Haredim, because it gnaws at the ethos of an "army of the people." Since the Second Lebanon War, the army hasn't liked the exemption for an operational reason as well - it's short of grunts, and losing 20% of its potential draft could threaten its operational effectiveness.
Beyond the military cost, the arrangement of full-time Torah study costs the nation NIS 7 billion a year in allowances and lost output, because they don't work.
Sixty thousand men, exempted from army service, at a cost to sacred values (equality, army of the people ) and hurting the economy, and Israel's military strength as well - can do this by virtue of a little note they possess. The one giving them the note, twice a year, is the Council of Yeshivot - Va'ad Hayeshivot. It is an organization of leading rabbis, the leaders of the great yeshivot. The council existed before the State of Israel. Today it incorporates all the big Torah yeshivas in its embrace, representing them in their doings with the state.
Actually, the council issues two types of permits. One is that the yeshiva is recognized. The other is a permit for the students of that yeshiva.
To get a recognition permit, the council must be shown a list of at least 25 pupils and two recommendations supporting the yeshiva leader from recognized rabbis. The moment the yeshiva is recognized, that's it. No more checks. The list of pupils it submits each year to the council will get practically rubber-stamped - the council does some minimal homework, for instance asking if the pupil finished high school. Then the pupils get the permits that exempt them from army service.
That's it. That's the extent of homework done before exempting a pupil from the draft. That feeble process may explain why the council has no data on how many yeshivas or pupils it rules against each year. Nor does the council take any action against a yeshiva or pupil that/who doesn't make the grade and is refused a permit.
Hot potato
The council does not hold surprise inspections of yeshivas, nor does it intend to. "If field inspections of yeshivas are necessary, let the army do it," a source close to the council told TheMarker.
But it doesn't, not does it mean to. "If the state wants to supervise, let the state establish a supervisory body. It isn't the army's job to supervise the yeshivas," an official army source told TheMarker.
Not only has the State of Israel ratified the status of the Council of Yeshivas in law, as the element exempting yeshiva pupils from the draft. It funds the council as well. The Education Ministry pays between NIS 400,000 and NIS 700,000 a year to the council for its work in exempting pupils from the draft. But no, the Education Ministry does not supervise the Council of Yeshivas. Nor does the ministry view the council as being under its jurisdiction. "The status of the Council of Yeshivas has been defined in the Draft Deferment Law," the ministry stated. The ones responsible for enforcing that law are the Defense Ministry and army, the ministry helpfully added.
What have we here? A voluntary Torah body, the Council of Yeshivas, which is not subordinate to the state or supervised by the state, issues permits every year for 60,000 Haredi men to study Torah instead of serving in the army, without even checking into their status. Is this absence of supervision an invitation for fraud by Haredi men who both dodge the draft and work (presumably, without paying taxes )? Almost certainly it is.
The only one who seems bothered by this is MK Yohanan Plesner, in his function as chairman of the committee checking into implementation of the Tal Law. Plesner recently fired off a biting letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The defense minister answered: "Indeed, the issue of physical inspection at the yeshivas themselves creates difficulty. There is a command about holding sample inspections at yeshivas. We shall keep track of the execution of this new proceeding." One can only hope that the new proceeding will bear fruit.
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I am a former yeshiva student of some of the biggest yeshivot in Israel. (By the way, I am not Israeli and therefore did not have to contend with the draft.) I am now a successful lawyer in chutz laaretz. In all my time in university, college and the wrok place I have never met such devoted, hard working and altruistic people as yeshiva students. These people are modestly protecting the future of not just Israel but the jews as a nation. May they continue to go from strength to strength in both numbers and devotion, and may their fellow citizens soon recognise who is really protecting the state. Our legitamacy too Israel stems from the Bible, our future depends on it.
btw - the photo in the article is taken in the inside of "Beis Eliyahu", one of the study-halls in the BMG yeshiva of Lakewood, NJ, the largest american haredi yeshiva. Next time let's see a photo israeli haredim.
The reason these pious Jews need to spend there whole lives in yeshiva is simply because they are holding up the world! It may be that a Jew should learn and work as well as serve in the army but the sad reality is that hardely anyone is learning tora nowadays. If we demand that the chareidim join the nation and serve in the military then we should also comply to there wishes and investigate a little more what learning tora is all about. In the mean time we need people learning day and night to keep alive, the jewish spirit and eithic alive.
The school that I study in was inspected twice last week. Everyone registered as being a student had to show proper ID to prove that they really do study there.
I live in Montreal but have traveled to Israel many times. It seems that every time I go back this issue is brought up at some dinner table, some social event or friendly gathering. I have always been concerned about the security of Israel and it should be seen as a privelage living in this beautiful country. This beauty needs protection not dividence and these individuals who are exempted from the army services should be asshamed of themselves. If you want to study Torah do so but do not exempt yourserlf from a MUCH needed defence force. They should perform duties that can facilitate other soldiers (preparing food, working in offices or making sure things are in order) you live in this country too and nothing makes you more Jewish then anyone else. The Mashiach works in both ways and if you help out and not live divided maybe he'll answer your wishes and you can finally believe in the state of Israel.
if you are so concerned about this country - move here and do the tzava!
Firstly I find this article to instigate the general public for whoever knows the insights and intelligent points of the IDF knows very well they do not want the Haredi. Second let’s put a stop to the funding of the dope users maybe we will have a much better safer healthier and happier society. So please do your homework it’s a very open world
The Hareidim have it right. Study religion during the day and have sex and make more kids at night. That's what all Israelis should be doing instead of getting drafted and then killing and abusing more Palestinians. The only ones who would be unhappy with this arrangement would be the Haaretz reporters, who would have no more injustices to Palestinians to report. Peace.
please tell me who will protects those p. eople when attacked Wil they be able to study make love produce babies by the Muslim Natioms
probably you don't know or you don't understand the huge sacrifice that those 60.000 haredim do every day studing torah rather than go to the army and make good money like you do and like i do. in a society that only thinks about profits, enrichment, capitalism we finally find people that dont care to live with the essential because they prefer to study torah and here everyone to criticize who is different from us. studing torah is a very important mitzva and if was not for them today there was not any jewish people or jewish nation. is true, you need to believe..and i believe that me working every day 9 hours a day make nothing good to the jewish nation as the 1 hour i study after that torah. so i think they do 9 times more than me studing torah all the time and live just above the poverty conditions. of course i agree that who does not really study torah all the day should go to work and also army.. but a little question...if you would have a special permission to dont do the army you would do it anyway? i dont think so..everyone make his own calculation of profit to this world and to the future one. stop to blame the haredim, cause we all know that zahal dont care anymore to recruit everyone, they send home all who does not care about the service..as other comments said about people in tel aviv.
Do you really mean what you said?.. or you are just being ironic.
If you accept the benefits of living in the State, you must also accept the burdens. Why should boys for Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat, etc have to go to the army, and these little black hatted "heroes" get to shtutel back and forth? Furthermore, if these guys don't want to serve, then perhaps the IDF should not have to protect them in the territories
Haaretz has NO right to talk or point fingers at the Haredim because the level of draft dodging in the secular left is astonishing. Except they have no excuse to go against your "sacred values". There is a reason that upwards of 40% of new officers are National Religious and not from Kibbutzim...
The Haredi avoidance of military service is a disgrace. But it is no greater a disgrace than the 35% of Tel Aviv youth who avoid service as well, most of whom represent the elite of Israeli society. moreover even those Tel Avivians who do enlist but tend to hide behind desks rather than serve any meaningful combat roles. Today there are only the company commanders in the entire IDF who come from Tel Aviv. Shame on the haredim and shame on the hilonim,
this reporter seems to not have all facts in mind and hand- 1- the military can in no way handle even 1,000 more haredi soldiers with their understandable requirements and issues of tznius, kashrut and learning. There seems to be a happy compromise with the haredi unit supplying just enough of their group to make everyone happy.... except biased writers and papers. 2- your quote:Sixty thousand men, exempted from army service, at a cost to sacred values (equality, army of the people ) and hurting the economy, and Israel's military strength as well - is a farce! unless you have BIB syndrome(built in bias), For an apparent assimilated, low IQ Jew, your sacred values are a bit skewed; as for the economy, what haredis generate in just VAT income to Israel makes your tax contributions look like a kids' allowance. You and maybe your 1-2 kids and dog do more to hurt the economy and Judaism's future than the religious Jews 3- as a false prophetess of modern warfare your G-dless take on warfare makes Jews fall into the trap of self annointed arrogance. Ancient and modern history show the Jew that manpower and gunpowder alone do not win victories. Even WestPoint saw G-ds hand in the 6 day war. 4- Perhaps you bias interferes with accurate reporting- I have seen where yeshivas are inspected- now its your word vs. mine- go get some real information. Sorry to say, madame, your ability to report objectively is certainly corrupted by your bias- but good news is that this paper would not want you to think any other way. OK Haaretz censors, scratch this one off!
you attack the writer's character, you mislead, and you provide false facts. Please restate with with some professional integrity.
Your reaction seems to be a nothing but a misinformed ranting based on a set of standard defensive arguments used by your community to shield themselves against the (perceived) hostility of outsiders. I suggest you to tell your rabbis to come up with new, more creative explanations as to why the seculars and theState of Israel have to support your insular, medieval way of life (praying and reading religious books is insufficient). Tell them that it is necessary to convey the new ideas in a clearer, simpler way. Make it sure to understand them well first, so you can properly write in this forum.
all I have to say is I really enjoyed reading this!
for the psychologist to certify that they are "unfit" for military service on the gounds it would cause them serious emotional issues?!
I'm sure the figure is a lot less than 60,000.
how many get inducted and find ways of staying close to home cuz' Daddy has connections with the Kiryah, or some other form of proteksia. Other than that just under the radar there are as many young men and women who are not enlisted because the IDF prefers "not to take them". 'The reasons are not religion, or psychological, and you can see them on the streets with different explanations of "why". The bottom line, dude, is to let the IDF decide who they want to take, and stop playing waving the cardboard on the barbeque as it were the Israeli flags as you play the Patriot in your backyard.
at least the chareidim do it for ideological reasons