As Israel mourns the tragic loss of five soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion this past Tuesday and prays for the recovery of 14 others wounded, it is time to pause and confront a painful truth: there is a relentless effort by some to create an image of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews as outsiders in the fight for Israel’s survival. This is both false and dangerous.
The Haredi community is not sitting on the sidelines. Our sons are in uniform. Our families are grieving. Haredi soldiers are risking—and losing—their lives in Gaza, standing shoulder to shoulder with their brothers-in-arms. Their blood stains the same sand. Their sacrifice deserves the same honor. To ignore or diminish their contributions is an affront not only to them but to the values of truth, unity and justice.
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From left to right: Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll, Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar and Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian of the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion, and Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin
Yet we are witnessing an aggressive campaign, largely driven by leftist political motives, to paint the entire Haredi community as draft dodgers and societal burdens. Politicians are calling for the mass arrest of yeshiva students—Torah scholars whose only “crime” is religious devotion. Some go as far as to compare them to threats to national security, echoing rhetoric typically reserved for enemies of the state. This demonization must stop.
It is eerily reminiscent of other smear campaigns in history, including the politically motivated Russia hoax used to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump during his previous administration, with one goal in mind—to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. Once again, we see political actors using smear by creating division to gain power, this time targeting a small, devout minority as scapegoats during wartime.
Let’s put things in perspective. The 50,000 Torah students at the heart of this debate represent less than half a percent of Israel’s population. They are not an existential threat. They are not draft dodgers in the traditional sense. They are members of a religious community that predates the essence of Judaism and the State of Israel, survivors of a tradition nearly wiped out in the Holocaust.
The very same faces and clothing styles displayed in Yad Vashem—beards, black coats and sidelocks who were arrested in the streets and lined up for deportation by the Nazis —are now being dragged back into public contempt as the enemy of the state, with threats of arresting them in the streets and at checkpoints. Is this something we should be proud of? Is this the picture the Israeli government wants to see on headline papers in Germany and around the world? Have we learned nothing from our own history?
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against mandatory military conscription, in Bnei Brak, June 5, 2025
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
Would the United States ever suggest eradicating the Amish community’s religious way of life in the name of national interest? Never. Yet here in the Jewish state, some demand the forced conscription or imprisonment of young men who dedicate their lives to Torah study—a pillar of Jewish continuity that Ben Gurion himself vowed to preserve when Israel was founded, yet the left in Israel are willing to do anything to push Netanyahu out of office.
Even endangered species—whether birds or elephants—are afforded legal protections to ensure they are not driven to extinction. Shouldn’t the same be true for one of Judaism’s oldest and most sacred traditions?
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Yes, not all Haredim serve in the military. But many do. And all contribute—whether through national service, charitable institutions or keeping alive the heartbeat of Jewish heritage. The light of Torah has guided our people for thousands of years. Today, that light still shines through the study halls of Bnei Brak, the synagogues of Jerusalem and even the combat gear of Netzah Yehuda soldiers.
Recent reports in the UK show how over 250,000 social media posts promoting Scottish independence suddenly went silent following a major Israeli airstrike on Iran, pointing to an outside smear campaign as political warfare aimed at sowing division and weakening the UK.
Duvi HonigPhoto: Avi Deutch, Orthodox Jewish Chamber of CommerceThis underscores a deeper reality: Israel, too, is facing coordinated disinformation campaigns by the left designed to destabilize its society from within. The same foreign or politically motivated forces are attempting to topple Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government by targeting Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population—falsely painting them as draft dodgers and scapegoating them as a national threat. These efforts are not organic. They are deliberate, divisive and dangerous—and they must be exposed and rejected for what they are: foreign-fueled political warfare aimed at tearing apart Israel’s social fabric and leadership in a time of war.
We must stop vilifying a community that represents the soul of our people for political purposes and call out the Russian hoax of using the Haredi sector to topple the government. We must reject political smear campaigns masquerading as national interest. And we must honor the Haredi soldiers who died in Gaza not just with our prayers, but with our public recognition and national gratitude.
In this time of war and heartbreak, unity is our only path forward. Let us stand together—not just in memory of our fallen, but in defense of the values they died to protect: faith, family, freedom and the eternal connection of the Jewish people and the holy Torah.
- Duvi Honig is the founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, a global umbrella of businesses of all sizes, bridging the highest echelons of the business and governmental worlds together, stimulating economic opportunity and positively affecting governments' public policies. His work has been recognized by both Presidents Obama and Trump.