The haredim within Israel’s democratic society
Ifrequently air out ideas with a secular acquaintance of Mizrahi origin who is a registered member of the Likud, admits that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is faulty in many respects, but claims that he is no worse than the rest of the politicians, and that since he is the greatest, he is irreplaceable.
Recently I asked him how he feels about the conduct of large sections of the ultra- Orthodox community in the corona pandemic reality. His automatic reply was: “And what do you think of the demonstrators?” to which I answered: “I asked you what you think of the haredim!”
“Well, there is really nothing to do about them. Even the Americans don’t dare. We simply have to live with the situation,” he replied.
I protested that in New York both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio appear to have reached the conclusion that enough is enough, and that it is time to put an end to the flagrant breaches of the COVID- 19 regulations among certain sections of the ultra- Orthodox community, even though they might be accused of antisemitism for doing so.
“As to the situation in Israel,” I added, “I do not belittle the problem or its complexity, but we are talking of at most 10% of the population, including Shas, and only someone who depends on haredi support for his political survival – as well as his staunch supporters – can say what you have just said. Do you really believe that while we are capable of dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat, we cannot deal with the threat to the Israeli democratic system posed by the haredim, or at least part of them?”
I DO NOT ignore or disclaim the haredi case, which is based on a totally different perception of the world and the place of the Jews in it, and a totally different order of priorities than that prevalent in most sections of the non- haredi society in Israel.
I understand that for the haredim the full- time study of the Torah and other religious sources by Jewish males is more important than anything else – it is life itself.
I understand that the haredi way of life is very strict, and involves a total detachment from TV, computers and nonkosher smartphones, and almost no ability to deviate from the rules dictated by tradition and very old, conservative rabbis, or to think freely and independently.
The COVID- 19 regulations – and especially the closure of synagogues and all levels of yeshivot and heders, and prohibition of crowding for any purpose – threaten the whole essence of the ultra- Orthodox way of life, which is impossible to preserve without them.
That haredi families are very large as a matter of principle, and usually totally unable to provide their members with basic comforts, is a cause of widespread poverty, very crowded living conditions and constant social distress, which are currently further aggravated by the shutdowns caused by the pandemic.
The haredi solution is to blatantly reject the shutdowns and the accompanying regulations, and at times haredim also resort to physical violence and verbal abuse ( including cries of “Nazis”) against the law enforcement agencies.
While one may understand the background and the circumstances, the fact that this conduct has far- reaching repercussions on the national effort to fight the pandemic, and on the spread of the disease to other sections of the population, raises great anger among the latter against the haredim.
This is not antisemitism, as the haredim claim – it has nothing to do with the fact that the ultra- Orthodox are Jews. It has to do with the fact that they are perceived as being antisocial without taking any responsibility for themselves or the rest of society.
While in normal times the haredi insistence on running their lives autonomously and refusing to accept the fact that the enjoyment of civil and social rights goes hand in hand with the fulfillment of duties ( such as mandatory military service or alternative National Service) is somehow tolerated, in times like those that we are experiencing today, it becomes intolerable and increasingly objectionable.
The question is what exactly can be done, short of outright suppression. It is easy to impose high fines and demand economic sanctions against ultra- Orthodox institutions and individuals that deliberately contravene the regulations, in addition to calling in the police and the armed forces. I am not sure that such an approach will help bring about the desired change, and suspect that fines will simply not be paid, though economic sanctions – in the form of cutting state budgets for haredi institutions and avrechim ( married yeshiva students) – might have some effect.
I believe that the change must come both from within the haredi community itself, as Shas leader Arye Deri has explicitly stated recently, and from the government.
Unfortunately, this cannot happen as long as we have a prime minister who depends on the haredim to keep him in power and out of prison, and is consequently unwilling to take effective measures to encourage them to assume a more responsible and cooperative attitude toward the state.
The ideal situation, in my opinion, would be for the haredim to be left outside the next government or two – irrespective of who will form them. In a democracy with a coalition government, any party that remains in the government for too long and gets used to getting almost everything it asks for, turns into a problem.
True, the haredim were left out of the 33rd government which served from 2013 to 2015, but Netanyahu was forced to leave them out due to the results of the elections to the 19th Knesset, and that experience convinced him to avoid leaving them out in future, since they are his most loyal, convenient partners.
Unfortunately, unless Netanyahu will not head Israel’s 36th government, and depart from Israel’s political arena for good ( perhaps within the framework of a plea agreement), there is no chance that ultra- Orthodox society and its parties will be forced to take the necessary time- out to take stock and start adapting to life in the 21st century.
A haredi party or parties should and will continue to exist since the haredi community is not about to disappear, and requires representation. However, our current experience suggests that both the community and the parties must undergo change – both for their own good and for the sake of the future of Israel’s democratic society.