It was only a matter of time until secular youth began asking 'why them and not me?'
Photo: Abir Sultan, IDF Spokesperson's Office
Failed leaders responsible for IDF decline
Dwindling number of new IDF recruits a result of declining leadership
A renowned leadership researcher once said leadership is like love; we all feel its presence, but find it hard to describe. And indeed, throughout the history of mankind, leaders have played a pivotal role in shaping human society, preserving it and contributing to its success on the battlefield.
A leader's vision and adherence to the morals and ethics of his society serve to consolidate those under his authority; it is what drives the subjects' loyalty and what serves as the "chant" leading soldiers to battle. A leader was the first to follow the values in whose name he ruled his people, leading them to battle and to man's ultimate sacrifice.
Many of Israel's leaders in pre-State Israel and in the first two decades after its foundation faithfully represented ethical leadership, which advocated the realization of Zionist ideology in which they believed. They sought to realize national and ethical values through modesty and humility in their private lives.
Our first presidents resided in modest homes, and many of our prime ministers and ministers viewed themselves as emissaries of the nation and the Jewish people. However, regretfully, these days are gone and we are now witnessing Knesset and cabinet members who no longer demonstrate ethical leadership traits, do not view themselves as the emissaries of the public, and are committed only to themselves, their homes and government seats.
There are many varied examples of this; while IDF soldiers fought in the first Lebanon war and in the territories, government leaders and Knesset members partook in the weddings of grandsons of Hassidic rabbis, who do not only avoid the draft but also do not consider themselves committed to the State of Israel.
Meanwhile, Knesset members "arrange" a safe post for their kids in the army; prime ministers and ministers are suspected of making it rich honestly or not so honestly, and artists get frequent air time despite openly avoiding the draft.
And while on the topic of the strictly Orthodox, Menachem Begin - an ethical leader in every sense of the word - made a grave mistake in 1977 when he granted all the haredi community exemption from enlisting into the standing army (until then there were exemption quotas for haredi students enrolled at yeshivot.)
The moment this group was freed from serving in the army, it was only a matter of time until other youngsters would start asking themselves "why me and not them?"
Why are the leaders of my country cultivating the strictly Orthodox who do not contribute to the army and the State whereas I am sent to battle? Why do they flock to the wedding of a son of a haredi minister but avoid visiting the family of the most seriously wounded IDF soldier in the Second Lebanon War? Why are they bolstering strictly Orthodox education rather than state-run schools?
Israel different than other countries
This is synonymous with opening a hole in a dam – the moment the dam is breached, there is no control over the flow of water. Following the sweeping exemption and subsequent increase in the number of Orthodox who do not serve in the army, there has been a parallel increase in the number of secular youngsters who choose not to serve in the army, and I am not talking about deprived youth in secular society.
Under such circumstances, we shouldn't wonder why the percentage of youngsters who feel they have no commitment towards the army increases ever year.
The State of Israel, and it is crucial that we understand this, is unlike other countries, not only because our enemies are waiting for our weaknesses to surface. The loss of our leaders' ethics will ultimately paralyze social ethics, and as a result the focus will shift to the individual's life, i.e. personal finances, family and work.
Society the way we know it will cease to exist and the motivation to serve in the army and protect the State against its numerous enemies will then fall on the shoulders of only a few youngsters and reserve soldiers.
A professional army, as can be deduced from the wars of other countries, does not have the motivation of a people's army, which draws its troops from a diverse social group, not only from underprivileged sectors as is the case in other western countries.
The attitude of "each for himself" and living in peace and tranquility may lead, heaven forbid, to a situation whereby the few who still contribute to the State will feel they are no longer willing to harm their families and risk the future of their children and spouses, and they too will avoid going to battle.
At a time of war, many of them may remain at home, if only because they would fear that their leaders would not assist their families in the event that they do not return from battle.
In order to prevent such a situation, we should focus on the words of Ehad Ha'am, who called for spiritual Zionism rather than territorial Zionism only; because in order to hold on to our land we need to believe in the righteousness of our ways and this unfortunately, is not the case among growing numbers of the Israeli population.
Izhar Oplatka is a senior lecturer at the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University
