haredim , you prayed 2000 years to come back to Jerusalem. God did not listen to you . he help the secular jews to establish Israel. The vast majority of holocoust survivers were secular and they help to establish the state . Now you claim that you pray for the sirvival of Israel . what a nonsense . you are not better then the judges king david the macabees and the students of rabi Akiva etc.

Actually I didn´t mean to offend anybody with my laughing,but the way you wrote your talkback was funny!

Or any other nation for that matter?

i get the strong feeling that those pushing for drafting all haredim are not really interested in having haredim serve. whose life would be better with if tens of thousands of haredim were in the army? this article spends two paragraphs quoting hiddush (a virulently antireligious group). is the motivation to make army service easier, or is the motivation to destroy haredi culture? i know the answer.

The result was a war where only the poor were drafted. Colleges became whores which took anybody in who could pay and have never recovered.

Exempting Haridim till age 26 is in fact exempting Haridim from military service. By 26 the Haridim will have a wife & children and be exempt from service by virtue of having a family. This is just another way to ensure that Haridim do not get drafted. Military service should be for youth between the ages of 18 to 20..

The Kadima plan from the Plesner committee had two aspects that make me think that it was primarily directed at creating a split between the Likud and the Hareidim. First, the extent of sanctions were too great, on the level of 200,000 nis per family. Secondly, the Hariedim were singled out as Israeli Arabs were exempted. The age of obligation could have been negotiatable. In the absence of subsidies only dedicated scholars would wait to age 26, as I think it should be. Benefits for service should decline from age 22 to nothing by age 26 and let the individual decide and assume the responsibility for their decision.

Al citizens 18 and above must repeat must be drafted into the army- Jewish/Christan/ or Muslim- if you are a citizen do your duty .. "Dont ask what your country can do for you.. ask what you can do for your country"

sign up for a yeshiva and then he can be exempted. Is he and are you willing?

are excempt

My son enrolled in a Hesder Yeshiva and did both. He studied for 3 years in a well-known yeshiva AND served as a COMBAT soldier with the Givati Brigade for 1 year 8 months. But please DON'T CLAIM THAT YOUR SON DOES NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY for the exemption! He most certainly does! That he chooses NOT to take advantage of it is not the fault of the heredim, BUT YOUR'S AND HIS!

A few days ago someone asked me: "well, what do you think about haredis joining the israeli "Tzava"?" Do you think they are interested or not?- I told him, to tell you the truth people are talking too much about the issue and it reminds us how Eban who was related to Herzog,..he was Rabbi Halevi Herzog son, and he was elected Isrrael President decades ago... -then he said - "But wait a minute... Herzog was in the "Tzava"?- and i answered him, i guess no, but so what? - Abba Eban was part of the Britain army!!.....and he was at least for a decade representing Israel at the UN...as an Israeli. Cest la vie mon ami

Just for your information: Every year, 24% of the eligible Jewish population to do army service, do not. The statistic for Tel Aviv is 33%, significantly higher than the general statistic. HOWEVER, out of the 24%, 14%!! are haredim. That leaves only 9% of seculars who get out of doing the army. Another interesting statistic is that Haredim make up 16% of the Jewish population of eligible age...and 14% don't do army service. When you look at statistics as damning as that, it is really unseemly that you point fingers at the Tel Aviv seculars, don't you think?

Rabbi Hertzog's son was Yitzhak Hertzog - and he was head of Israeli Military Intelligence with the rank of brigadier general for a long time! Abba Eban did not do the army, because he was doing two far more important things: representing Israel in times of war to the world as an ambassador, as well as drumming up support ( including money to buy and ship arms and ammunition, without which the soldiers could not fight) for Israel.

I won't forgive " Mofaz " if he Agrees with this decision. the Army Services should begin At age 18 like every normal person who has a clean mind she or he begins at the same age and not @@@ 28

so while I understand the outrage of 'inequality,' we need to understand that equality does not mean equivalence. AIl my children served in Israel. One of my sons was a Yeshivat Shaalavim/infantry soldier n the Hesder Program for 5 years, the other was a happy jobnick in the regular army, working at the Kirya for 3 years. My daughter did National Service for 2 years, working with the elderly in Afula. Each served Israel according to their own abilities and preferences and the needs of the army and society. The results look different, but this is an Israeli formula of fairness, not equivalence. I think Mr. Netanyahu's plan to slowly build bridges between the Charedi world and the rest of us is the best way to go. The number 6,000 is not what matters at this important moment. The Agreement is. That is, the agreement of our Charedi brothers to begin to cross that bridge AT ALL is what should be noted and celebrated. It is astounding. It will change Charedi minds - it already is. Same as for the number of Arabs. The Agreement matters. Both those communities will now have exit doors and bridges to reach richly faceted Israeli societal life and service of God. At that point, individual choice takes over, and full human development is possible, as is the bonding of the Torah and the person in new ways. Ignore the numbers, embrace the agreement of these 2 communities to move towards their fellow citizens. It makes us ALL more unified, with room for further growth. And let the creative juices of the IDF and Social Systems be stirred up, creating programs that contribute to Israel's growth and safety and health that suit the particular needs of these communities so each can find their way to contribute as beautifully as my children each found their way to contribute. Serving his/her nation affects a young person profoundly for the good. I am glad the children of these communities will now have a taste of that 'beyond education' experience of growth and personhood. .

I am a religious American Jew who knew it was important to serve in the military of my country. The Haradim don't recognize Israel except to receive financial support. They do not follow the TORAH where ALL males were required to fight for Israel, even the tribe across the river. If attacked again will these men line up for the cattle cars or prove they are Jewish.