Answers to Questions by Yair Davidiy
The Hareidim should not be drafted into the IDF because:
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1. Parallel to the Tribe of Levi.
Those Hareidim who learn Torah receive a deferment for learning.
They represent the equivalent of the Tribe of Levi in our time.
Levi was dedicated to the service of God. The Levites did not go out to war with the other Tribes.
Maimonides (Laws of Shemitah and Yovel 13.12) justified the exemption of the Levites on linguistic nuances.
... they do not go to war, as do the rest of Israel, they do not receive an apportionment of land as an inheritance, and they do not obtain things for themselves by the strength of their bodies; rather, they are the Warriors of the Almighty, as it is said: "Bless, O LORD, his Prowess and He, Blessed be He, provides for them, as it is said: 'I am your portion and your share' (Numbers 18:20).
This is also strongly implied in other passages, e.g. in Numbers ch. 26:2-51 a census of all the Tribes (apart from Levi) is given from 20 years up. 20 years was the age an Israelite male was obliged to do military service.
The Tribe of Levi is then listed SEPARATELY (Numbers 26:52-62) from a month old. Levi was not listed from the age of 20 because the LEVITES DID NOT DO MILITARY SERVICE from 20 years old.
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2. The IDF does not want Hareidim.
The IDF is not built to accommodate Hareidim and would rather not have to go to the extra trouble. There are exceptions such as older married Hareidim who have learned for a few years. These in some cases reveal an aptitude (after training) for cyber warfare and original thought that is considered worth investing in.
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3. The IDF in general wants LESS manpower than it currently receives.
Almost as many secular as Hareidim now receive deferments.
The Hareidim at least have some historical justification. What excuse do the secular Zionists have?
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4. Attempts to induct Hareidim are ideologically motivated by forces that are not necessarily pro-Jewish.
There are elements that wish to defame practitioners of the Jewish Religion. Branding them as shirkers and the like is one way of doing this.
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5. Women are forbidden by Jewish Law to serve in the Armed Forces.
This prohibition obviously includes Hareidi women. The utility of female participation in the armed forces is a matter of debate on practical grounds all over the world.
The IDF apparently has a surplus of funds and resources.
It therefore can afford to waste them in treating the secular segment of the population to a free coming of age experience for all 30% of their girls who bother to turn up.
The funds and resources involved are obviously a source of gratification and influence for those controlling them.
The IDF therefore sometimes makes noises in this direction as if it would want the law of female conscription more stringently enforced.
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6. General Reservations
I met young Israelis who did not want to serve in the IDF because if they would serve then it would be in combat units.
They felt that in dangerous situations their safety would be forfeit to humanitarian considerations as determined by world opinion.
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7. Other Reasons
To be given elsewhere perhaps.
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See Also our answer to the question:
https://www.quora.com/Do-you-thi...
Note: Most conscripts to the IDF do not risk their lives any more than any other Jewish citizens of Israel do. Some do risk their lives. We appreciate it the same as we appreciate similar attitudes on the part of the Police, the Border Guards, and Israeli citizens who live and work in areas more dangerous than others. There are unfortunately those who exploit the very necessary service in the IDF as a means to undermine the Jewish nature of the State of Israel. Conscripts to the IDF are typically young, impressionable, and vulnerable to anti-Religious influences exerted upon them. Those who adduce the 'exposed to danger' card are consciously or unconsciously working against the true interests of the State of Israel.