Last month, Yitzhak Goldknopf and Meir Porush, two ministers from Agudat Yisrael, resigned from the government. Earlier this week, the Degel HaTorah party pulled out of the coalition, followed by Agudat Yisrael. Most commentators have treated these developments with some cynicism, convinced that a formula for a conscription law will be found before the resignations take effect, and everyone will return to the fold.<\/p>\n
I am not certain they are right. There is a reasonable chance that the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) \u2014 at least the Ashkenazi faction \u2014 will \u201cgo all the way\u201d and leave the government, even if it brings it down. We should consider the possibility that the Haredim are changing their attitude toward Israeli society writ large, and are returning to their historical stance of oppositionalism \u2014 resistant to authority and expectations.<\/p>\n
The Haredim see themselves as the \u201csurviving remnant\u201d \u2014 the authentic Jews who were not swept up by the waves of modernity, secularism, and nationalism. and therefore stand apart from the broader Jewish public. They maintain a separate and parallel system of public institutions alongside those of the broader Jewish and Israeli society \u2014 not only schools and synagogues, but also free-loan societies and charitable welfare organizations. Their fundamental ideological position is that they are \u201cin exile among Jews,\u201d to use the title of a famous article by one of their leaders in Poland, Nathan Birnbaum (1864-1937).<\/p>\n
The Haredi parties have been part of Likud-led coalitions for nearly 50 years, since Menachem Begin’s political upheaval in 1977. Over the years, Likud essentially invited the Haredim to abandon their oppositional stance and join the broad right-wing coalition of traditionalists, religious Zionists, and Haredim \u2014 the “coalition of believers,” as Shimon Riklin calls it. The Haredim responded that they were willing to do so, but only if their most basic and important interests were safeguarded. These included a complete exemption from military service for all Haredi men devoted to full-time Torah study. For a time, such a demand was politically untenable, due to the presence in Likud coalitions of secular (Yisrael Beiteinu) or centrist (Yesh Atid) parties. Yet there was an expectation that with the rise of \u201cfull right-wing\u201d governments, a Haredi draft exemption law might finally pass. Of course, that has not happened, and Netanyahu has essentially stalled them for two years.<\/p>\n
What is important is not only that it didn\u2019t happen, but that the Haredi leadership is increasingly convinced it cannot happen. They understand that it is not the politicians who are the problem, but rather Israeli society itself \u2014 including Religious Zionists and Likud supporters \u2014 who oppose such a move. In other words, they now understand that they are returning to an oppositional relationship with the broader Israeli society. This is a script they know well \u2014 one could say it is their foundational script. In such a scenario, the Haredim will once again be in the opposition, as they were for decades before 1977. They will be in the opposition because they fundamentally oppose the Zionist framework of the State of Israel, and they recognize that a Zionist state has, in essence, no place for Haredi society and its values. That is to say, the radical Haredi leadership is prepared \u2014 and perhaps even desires \u2014 to return to the opposition.<\/p>\n
Naturally, such a move would have consequences, as commentators have noted, but it is not clear that these consequences are decisive. Aryeh Deri (Shas) does not want to bring down a right-wing government. But it is doubtful whether this matters to Rabbis Lando and Hirsch or to the Gur Rebbe For them, right and left are almost indistinguishable \u2014 both comprise Jews who have abandoned the Torah path and joined the false ideology of Zionism. True, they will lose significant funding. Yet even this may not trouble them much.<\/p>\n
The Haredi society in Israel is fundamentally elitist. It was originally meant to include only those willing to dedicate their lives to Torah study out of self-sacrifice, while living materially modest lives \u2014 along with their families. Over the years, the Haredi population expanded, and with it came increased political influence and a flow of public funding. It is quite possible that the Haredi leadership is now prepared to return to the old model \u2014 higher quality in exchange for lower quantity.<\/p>\n
It is hard to imagine that elderly rabbis and rebbes are bothered by Haredi families not going out to caf\u00e9s on Saturday nights or taking vacations abroad. Nor would it trouble them if the \u201cmodern Haredim\u201d were to leave the community. What matters is that the \u201csurviving remnant\u201d will remain \u2014 the faithful of Israel loyal to the path of their forefathers.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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