Transcript [00:00] This week, Israeli military police [00:02] entered an apartment building in ModÃ. [00:05] The purpose of their visit was to arrest [00:07] an ultraorththodox Israeli for the crime [00:10] of dodging the military draft. Just [00:13] minutes after the police entered the [00:14] building, word was passed from one [00:16] person to another. Before the police [00:19] even had the man in custody, hundreds of [00:22] ultraorththodox men had gathered [00:24] outside. Police attempted to block them [00:26] from entering the building, but clashes [00:28] broke out and some forced their way [00:30] through. The situation got so out of [00:32] control that regular police had to be [00:34] called in as backup for the military [00:37] police. Eventually, all of the police [00:39] ended up fleeing the building and the [00:42] scene entirely without the draft dodger. [00:45] A celebration ensued with the draft [00:47] dodger being paraded on top a vehicle to [00:50] the cheers of those assembled. To many [00:53] outside of Israel, this is a very [00:55] confusing situation. Why are there still [00:58] so many IDF draft dodgers in Israel? And [01:01] why, especially amongst Israel's most [01:04] religious sectors? And why does this [01:06] seem to be such a sticking point for the [01:08] Israeli public and for Israeli politics [01:12] more broadly? Since the beginning of [01:15] Israel's modern history, the kharedim or [01:18] ultraorththodox have been able to avoid [01:20] the mandatory conscription in Israel. [01:23] The reason given is because these young [01:25] men choose to study the scriptures in [01:27] yeshiva during the period of their draft [01:30] instead of military service. And [01:32] historically, this has been accepted [01:35] pretty generally inside of Israel. The [01:37] thought process is that Israel needs [01:39] soldiers to fight both on the physical [01:40] front and on the spiritual front. Thus, [01:43] the young men studying the scriptures [01:45] were fulfilling just as vital of a role [01:47] as the men fighting on Israel's front [01:49] lines. Plus, the ultraorththodox [01:52] represented a very vocal and very [01:54] powerful block of Israeli voters. And uh [01:57] changing the status quo could be [01:59] explosive. But just over the past couple [02:01] of decades, Israeli public opinion has [02:04] been slowly changing. Israel has had to [02:07] fight in war after war and the manpower [02:10] toll on the Israeli public has been [02:12] severe and it's very tempting to look at [02:14] the some 80,000 fighting age [02:16] ultraorththodox who aren't serving to [02:18] possibly help take some of the brunt of [02:21] the burden. This led to the Israeli [02:23] government back in July of 2024 finally [02:27] ending the general exemption for the [02:29] ultraorththodox community. Exemptions [02:32] were still handed out for specific [02:33] circumstances, but generally most [02:36] ultraorththodox are now required to [02:38] serve their military time. But overall, [02:40] this end to exemptions still hasn't been [02:43] fully enforced. And as a result, just [02:46] this last April, the Supreme Court in [02:48] Israel ordered the government to explain [02:51] their failures in enforcing this draft. [02:54] This led the police a few weeks later to [02:56] announce that draft dodgers will now be [03:00] arrested and handed over to military [03:02] police to begin their service. This is a [03:04] very sticky situation because the [03:06] ultraorththodox still hold a lot of [03:08] power in Israel. Their two represented [03:11] parties in the Knesset are in coalition [03:13] with BB Niel meaning if they were to [03:16] find issue with the government they [03:18] could pull out sending Israel to early [03:20] elections. Not only that, but BB [03:22] desperately needs these parties to have [03:24] any possible chance of rebuilding a [03:26] coalition after elections. This gives [03:29] the community leverage. As a result, the [03:32] Israeli government passed a new law in [03:34] July that would halt draft dodgers [03:36] arrests for 7 months, basically giving [03:39] time to peacefully get through the [03:41] elections. But again, Israel Supreme [03:43] Court struck this law down. Again, [03:45] police began arresting draft dodgers. [03:47] And this is when the ultraorththodox [03:49] pulled out another weapon. To date, [03:51] ultraorththodox have been very [03:53] successful in assembling in mass to [03:55] demonstrate when they have something [03:57] they want changed. And this time was no [04:00] different. Mass demonstrations swept the [04:02] country, blocking highways, roads, [04:04] buildings, etc. The result was [04:07] deescalation by Israeli police. Quietly [04:10] arrests petered out and quietly [04:12] demonstrations also fizzled out. We'll [04:15] get into more on this in a second, but [04:17] first, did you know Israeli soldiers [04:19] have started wearing this exact patch on [04:22] their gear? Since October 7th, it's [04:25] surged in popularity inside the IDF as a [04:28] symbol of faith in difficult times. This [04:31] is a durable embroidered patch that [04:33] velcros right onto a jacket, backpack, [04:36] or hat. Customers tell us this has [04:38] become one of the most personal ways [04:40] they carry their support for Israel. And [04:43] like everything in our store, all the [04:44] proceeds go straight to our volunteer [04:46] work on the ground in Israel. Get yours. [04:50] Scan the QR code or click the link in [04:52] the description below. All of this [04:55] pressure, both from ultraorththodox [04:57] demonstrations and from the Supreme [04:59] Court, led to what's been happening over [05:01] the past few weeks. To take advantage of [05:04] the extra holiday traveling that's been [05:06] happening inside of Israel, military [05:08] police bolstered forces at border [05:10] crossings and airports. This led to the [05:13] arrest of over 200 deserters and draft [05:16] evaders and about 75% of those arrested [05:19] were ultraorththodox. And for context, [05:21] ultraorththodox only make up about 14% [05:24] of the Israeli population today. So this [05:26] is an outsized percentage. And these [05:29] arrests have triggered yet again fierce [05:32] backlash from the ultraorththodox [05:34] community such as what we saw in the [05:36] story that we started this video with. [05:38] Although that being said, it is [05:40] important to mention that there is a [05:41] movement within the ultraorththodox [05:43] community who do encourage their young [05:45] people to serve in the military. [05:47] Although currently that only makes up [05:48] about 5 to 10% of the community. This is [05:52] a huge dividing point for the Israeli [05:54] public. Currently, support in Israel for [05:57] the mandatory draft remains relatively [05:59] high. Many in Israel see it as a [06:01] tremendous honor to serve their country. [06:03] And pretty much all of the other [06:04] religious communities inside of Israel, [06:06] whether it's Orthodox, Christian, Jews, [06:08] or even some Muslim communities, [06:10] encourage their young people to serve. [06:13] In the Drews community, for example, [06:15] about 80% of them are not required to [06:17] serve in the military for one reason or [06:19] another. Yet, most still volunteer for [06:22] service. But again, in the [06:23] ultraorththodox community, for the most [06:25] part, this seems to be a makeorb breakak [06:27] issue. There is a general fear that [06:30] serving for several years in the [06:31] military will lead ultraorththodox young [06:34] people to leave the community entirely [06:36] and uh also a general sentiment that [06:38] studying Torah full-time is more [06:41] important than holding a gun at a [06:43] checkpoint. But for the general Israeli [06:45] public who are sacrificing so much [06:47] physically for their country right now, [06:50] the attitude of the ultraorththodox is [06:51] repulsive and uh is building resentment. [06:54] And this is where we are right now. And [06:57] there doesn't seem to be a good [06:59] solution. For the most part, Israeli [07:01] politicians hands seem to be kind of [07:03] tied because like I said, BB needs the [07:05] ultraorththodox parties to form and keep [07:08] a coalition. That is unless a government [07:10] is formed by Eisenhot or Bennett without [07:12] the ultraorththodox parties, which for [07:15] clarity, a government like that would [07:16] almost certainly be formed by including [07:18] the Arab parties who in many cases [07:20] openly support terrorism. So there's [07:23] that. Now, probably more than ever, [07:26] Israel really needs your prayers. Not [07:28] only are they facing a lot of external [07:30] opposition on many border fronts at the [07:32] same time, but they also have a lot of [07:34] internal pressure as well. And I would [07:37] encourage you to pray for unity, [07:38] especially as Israel heads into this [07:40] election season, that whatever happens, [07:43] whoever wins, Israel would receive unity [07:45] and strong leadership. Guys, don't [07:49] forget to pick up your Temple Messiah [07:50] patch. You can scan the QR code on [07:53] screen or click a link in the [07:55] description below. If you want to share [07:56] this video with more people, click the [07:58] thumbs up button and leave us a comment [08:00] below. As always, thanks for watching.
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This week, Israeli military police entered an apartment building in Modiin. The purpose of their visit was to arrest an ultra-orthodox Israeli, for the crime of dodging the military draft. Just minutes after the police entered the building, word was passed from one person to another. Before the police even had the man in custody, hundreds of ultra-orthodox men had gathered outside.
What is going on with Israeli conscription laws, Haredi riots and protests revolving around this sensitive issue? There’s more to it than meets the eye. This single issue already has had a massive impact on Israel both politically and militarily, and the next few months could see the impact of this issue grow dramatically. Ben Hilton breaks it down for you on today’s video.
Source Links:
Times of Israel on enforcement against draft evaders
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-says-government-must-up-enforcement-against-draft-evaders-haredim-comprise-over-80/
Times of Israel on High Court draft order
https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-orders-government-to-explain-failure-to-draft-haredi-men-despite-2024-ruling/
Times of Israel on police detaining draft dodgers
https://www.timesofisrael.com/rebuked-by-court-and-military-police-say-they-will-detain-draft-evaders/
Times of Israel on Haredi arrest ban
https://www.timesofisrael.com/high-court-annuls-haredi-draft-dodger-arrest-ban-as-unconstitutional-violation-of-equality/
Times of Israel on resumed proactive arrests
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/after-halt-idf-says-it-resumed-proactive-arrests-of-haredi-draft-dodgers-in-september/
Times of Israel on Haredi enlistment numbers
https://www.timesofisrael.com/only-1212-of-the-24000-haredi-men-called-up-in-past-year-have-begun-enlisting/
Council on Foreign Relations on Haredi military draft
https://www.cfr.org/articles/why-israel-wants-draft-ultra-orthodox-military
Jerusalem Post report on Modi’in protest
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-910725
Times of Israel report on Modi’in clashes
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-haredi-protesters-clash-with-police-thwart-arrest-of-draft-dodger-in-modiin/
#IDFDraft #HarediConscription #IsraelRiots #Israel #IsraelWar #BibiNetanyahu #Settlers #IsraelNews
