The two news flashes on the United Torah Judaism, which recently caught my attention, were the party's calls for the ultra-Orthodox to be treated like all other Israeli citizens, and the demand to pass the override clause allowing the Knesset to void Supreme Court rulings.
The Haredi sector makes up about 12% of the Israeli population, and within one generation they are expected to make up as much as 25% of all Israelis.
Provided they get what they've asked for, within several years a large portion of the Israeli population will not be drafted into the IDF. That same chunk of the population will then enter the yeshiva studies, and demand a substantial part out of state funding to be invested in them - while still failing to obtain the necessary skills to join the workforce.
The capacity of Israel's economy to endure such a situation is questionable.
Here, I bring forth a suggestion that on one hand attends to the Haredi population's needs, but on the other, could solve the future economic problem.
We know the Haredi leaders will not bend from their stance that yeshiva studies are equally important as IDF service. So, I propose that at age 18, each Haredi youth would decide whether for themselves whether they want to continue the yeshiva studies or enlist in the military. This would eliminate quotas, threats, and stories of often violent demonstrations of ultra-Orthodox youth demanding to be exempt from IDF service.
Accordingly, since the duration of mandatory service in the IDF for men is 32 months, the same amount of time will be designated for continued yeshiva studies. Hence, young Haredi men would be able to begin their civilian lives at age 21, like everyone else.
Here is a list of positives that would come out of implementing such a policy :
- Formal state recognition of an essential condition for the Haredi political leadership to recognize a special status of yeshiva students.
- An end to the bluff of yearly numbers of postponed inductions into the IDF.
- Dramatic reduction in the budget burden that goes toward funding ultra-Orthodox studies up to the age of 28.
- A stop to the conflicts that involve forced draft and sending men to prison for refusing it.
- A greater chance of integration of ultra-Orthodox youth into the labor market, because at the age of 21 they will have almost no choice other than to get a job or study and train for one.
- Minimization of "under the table" jobs that many who refuse service are urged to take on due to their legal status.
- Create bottom-up pressure to study secular subjects in school - not because the government is secular - but because the youth themselves and their parents will understand that English and mathematics are essential skills for their future financial sustainability.
Even if all the 18-year-old Haredi boys will choose to continue their yeshiva studies, the overall result would still be worth it. If the army offers these young men training and a service that could prepare them for civilian life, more and more Haredi boys will prefer to pursue an IDF role that could open doors for jobs afterwards: for example medics, technicians, or high-tech positions.
While this plan does harm the principal of egalitarian military service, it is better than the alternative, which would mean more demands on a sector of the population to do something that has been objected to for decades.
Unlike other issues in which the new government can easily change laws and regulations, if the State of Israel does not act on this now, in 25 years we will find ourselves deep in a social-economic crisis that will be impossible to overcome.
If there is a government in Israel that can make this a reality, it's none other than the right-wing religious one we're bound to have in a few weeks.