Equal Sharing of the Burden

Publications Regarding Equal Sharing of the Burden

Articles

Explainer

Haredi Yeshiva Students Are Being Called to IDF Enlistment Centers. What’s Next?

On Monday August 5, 2024 and Tuesday August 6, 2024—900 ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students were required to present themselves at IDF enlistment centers. Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer and Mirit Lavi explain the next steps the IDF will need to take in order to enforce the legal obligation of conscription. 

Op-ed

A Sharp, Unequivocal, and Unanimous Supreme Court Decision to Draft Haredim

The Supreme Court ruling on June 25th addresses the question of whether the government is operating in accordance with the law. It determined that the state must act in accordance with the law and act to draft ultra-Orthodox. It also connects between the issue of exemptions and the criteria for eligibility for yeshiva budget funds.

Professional Opinion

Military Service Law and Reserve Service Law Amendments (extension of mandatory and reserve service period): Professional Opinion

The government wishes to amend the Military Service Law and Reserve Service Law due to the new security circumstances arising from the outbreak of the war in Gaza. While recognizing the immediate imperative to respond to IDF's personnel needs, we oppose these legislative proposals. 

Op-ed

A Blow to the IDF as the ‘People’s Army’

A proposal by the panel appointed to investigate ultra-Orthodox enlistment to lower the exemption age defies multiple High Court rulings

Press Release

MK Liberman: " If third elections are held the outcome will be different"

MK Avigdor Liberman at IDI Annual Conference on Security and Democracy: "I fully trust the security forces know how to deal with threats in a professional manner uninfluenced by outside biases"

 

 

Press Release

Preserving the Value of the "People's Army"

Yohanan Plesner opened the annual Security and Democracy conference saying: "Our challenge is to preserve the value of mamlahtiut (stateliness) in the 'people's army', especially in a polarized country like Israel."

Article

Ultra-Orthodox Service in the IDF: An Ongoing Struggle

The tension between the "military service for all" and "exemption for all" represents the tradeoff between the quest for equality and the existing political-social reality.

Op-ed

Climbing up the Socioeconomic Ladder: Military Service among the Ultra-Orthodox

Even though military service seems to be one of the most blatant threats to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, it has become a rather attractive channel for broad segments of the community.

Article

Citizenship and Military Service in Ultra-Orthodox Society

More and more ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Israelis are enlisting in the IDF, driven by personal, financial, and professional motives, with military service seen as an “entrance ticket” to Israeli society and to the labor market. But military service also introduces them to the shared components of identity and citizenship linking them to the state and its values, and enabling them to identify with others, from outside their community.

Article

Debating the Draft – Public Opinion Survey

Majority support for drafting young ultra-Orthodox into the army goes as far back as 1991. There have been small fluctuations, but consistently --at least 2/3 (65%) of the Israeli public has supported drafting yeshiva students or young ultra-Orthodox into the IDF.

Press Release

Israel needs a draft law that will uphold the principle of civic equality

 

Now is the time to rise above petty politics and pass a draft law that will uphold the principle of civic equality in Israel.

 

Op-ed

Israel's wealthiest are abandoning IDF combat units

Israel's secular elite has lost its enthusiasm for combat service and now targets intelligence units, such as Unit 8200.

Article

Proposal for Amending Ultra-Orthodox Conscription Plan

IDI puts forth analysis of why the proposed conscription plan for the ultra-Orthodox is problematic and offers an alternative approach

Press Release

Will Trump’s Peace Plan Gain Traction?

The monthly Peace Index of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, published today, finds that most Israelis think that Trump’s peace plan won’t gain traction and that the IDF should directly target ‘terror kite’ assailants.

Article

The Conscription Plan: Taking the Easy Route to Inequality

Though many ultra-Orthodox politicians expressed outrage at the original publishing of this new bill, some view the proposal as a double achievement.

Press Release

Proposed Draft Bill Puts the “People's Army” at Risk

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute cautions that the Ministry of Defense’s proposed draft bill “endangers IDF’s model of service as a “People's Army” based on the principle of mandatory service for all

Article

Proposed Basic Law: Torah Study

Letter to Members of the Knesset on the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study - "This is an extremist proposal to enshrine the principle of inequality in our law books.Its adoption could undermine the IDF’s model of service and place Israel’s national security in jeopardy"

Press Release

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study has far-reaching economic implications

 

In a letter to the Members of Knesset, IDI's management clarifies that the ultra-Orthodox proposed legislation will influence budgetary matters such as allocations to Yeshiva students and housing grants, and will  place Israel’s national security in jeopardy

 

 

Play

5 Things You Must Know About the ultra-Orthodox Community in Israel

How many ultra-Orthodox live in Israel today? How many will watch this clip on the internet? How are ultra-Orthodox women transforming their community? How many are employed? What age to they get married?

Press Release

Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel

Israel Democracy Institute and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research published today the 2017 Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel. The report presents trends in population, education, employment, and leisure in the ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel.

Article

Charedi Women Increasingly Having It All

Growing numbers of ultra-Orthodox women postponing marriage to pursue a career path, new study finds.

Op-ed

The IDF and the Ultra-Orthodox

As the Knesset prepares to vote on the "Draft Law" designed to regulate the service of ultra-Orthodox men in the Israel Defense Forces, Dr. Haim Zicherman surveys the current situation within Israel's Haredi community.

Op-ed

An Unequal Share of the Burden? The Truth about the Hesder Yeshivot

Do students in the religious Zionist hesder yeshivot really contribute less to the IDF than other men who serve? IDI Researcher Dr. Benny Porat does the math and comes to an interesting conclusion.

Op-ed

The Haredi Draft: Is the Shaked Committee's Bill Destined to be Overturned?

As the Shaked Committee begins to vote on its proposal for the Haredi draft, Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern warns that the proposal's recommendation to exempt Haredi men of draft age during a three-year "adjustment period" is both inequitable and ineffective. 

Op-ed

The Haredi Draft: Equality Now?!

On November 21 2013, Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern appeared before the Shaked Committee and argued that criminal sanctions are not recommended for reaching conscription goals. In an op-ed in Makor Rishon, he explains why.

Op-ed

Sir Isaac Newton and the New Haredim

Prof. Yedidia Stern shares thoughts on the connection between failure of the ultra-Orthodox "Tov" party in the local elections, the Haredi draft bill being debated by the Shaked Committee, and Newton's laws of motion.

Op-ed

How Can We Draft the Ultra-Orthodox with Consent?

Is it possible to draft the ultra-Orthodox and integrate them into Israel's society and economy in a mutually-agreeable manner that encourages solidarity between the different sectors of the Jewish people? Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern shares thoughts on wars between brothers and brothers-in-arms.

Op-ed

The Ultra-Orthodox Draft: Crossing the Third Rubicon

Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern and Attorney Haim Zicherman stress the need to break down barriers that are preventing Haredi service in the army and integration in the labor force, and warn against passing a popular but ill-advised reform. 

Op-ed

Haredi Integration: Not by Re-Education

IDI researcher Attorney Haim Zicherman warns against attempts to integrate ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army by encouraging them to abandon their lifestyle, and calls for developing mechanisms that will accept and respect their values. 

Op-ed

The Ultra-Orthodox Draft: A Test of the New Israeli Politics

IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Yedidia Stern warns that the hasty passage of the proposed government bill on the Haredi draft would be "old politics," and stresses the importance of a Knesset debate to arrive at balanced legislation that is in line with the national interest. 

Op-ed

The Peri Committee Recommendations: Fanning the Flames of Haredi Extremism

IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Yedidia Stern warns that the Peri Committee recommendations on the ultra-Orthodox draft will undo progress already made in integrating Israel's Haredi community into Israeli society.

Op-ed

The Proposals for Drafting the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel: The Issues at Hand

IDI's Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer critiques various aspects of the proposals for integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the army and calls on the Israeli public to stand firm on its demand for an arrangement that is fair and equitable.

Op-ed

The Haredi Draft: The Need for an Alliance of the Moderates

Prof. Yedidia Stern calls for a historic alliance between religious and secular moderates that will yield a solution that will  that will yield a solution that addresses the need for ultra-Orthodox army service while taking into account the most important values of the Haredi community.

Op-ed

The Need for Equal Sharing of the Burden and Strengthening of Torah Study

The need for the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel to share the burden of military service and participate equally in the Israeli economy was a central issue in the 2013 elections. IDI researcher Dr. Benny Porat shares his thoughts on how to bring about this change in the Haredi community.

Op-ed

The Comeback of Polarization

IDI researcher Dr. Benjamin Brown discusses the sense of attack experienced by the Haredi community in the 2013 election campaign and calls for a process of gradual change in integrating the ultra-Orthodox in the Israeli army and workforce.

Op-ed

Ultra-Orthodox Conscription: Making It Work

Will the High Court of Justice’s refusal to extend the Tal Law indeed reduce the inequality of burden sharing in Israeli society? IDI Senior Fellow Prof. Momi Dahan does not think so, and argues that ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel should be exempted from the army and allowed to work, so as to assume their fair share of the tax burden.

Op-ed

Do Not Put an End to Ultra-Orthodox Army Service

Following the dissolution of the Committee to Advance Equality in Sharing the Burden, committee head MK Yohanan Plesner submitted proposals for alternatives to the Tal Law. In this article, IDI Researcher Attorney Haim Zicherman, who served as the content coordinator of the Plesner Committee, warns that some of those measures were personal recommendations rather than recommendations of the Committee, and may reverse trends of increasing army service by ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Op-ed

The Tal Law: Judicial Responsibility at its Best

Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer presents a contrasting view to Prof. Yedidia Stern's assertion that the Israeli Supreme Court's ruling on the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service in Israel is "<a href="http://en.idi.org.il/analysis/articles/judicial-activism-at-its-height">Judicial Activism at its Height</a>." 

Op-ed

The Tal Law: Judicial Activism at its Height

The Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Tal Law, after 30 years of avoiding the issue of the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, is an expression of judicial activism that illustrates the transformation that the Israeli Supreme Court has undergone in the last generation. In this op-ed, originally published in Hebrew in <em>Makor Rishon</em>, IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Stern asserts that the Court went too far in this ruling and that its activism is hard to justify.

If They Give, They Will Receive

In this response to the Supreme Court ruling on the Tal Law, IDI Senior Researcher Yair Sheleg asserts that the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service is an unparalleled <em>Hillul Hashem</em>—a desecration of the Name of God, and shares his views of a possible solution.

Op-ed

Make the Ultra-Orthodox Serve

IDI Vice President of Research Prof. Yedidia Stern sets the  controversy over mass transportation on Shabbat and holidays in Israel in a broader context, and distinguished between the need for an Israeli-Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath) rather than a religious Shabbat.

Op-ed

In the Aftermath of the Tal Law

Will the Israeli Supreme Court's ruling that the Tal Law is unconstitutional really guarantee that the burden of Israel's defense will be shared equally by the country's citizens? IDI's Prof. Yedidia Stern warns that this ruling may actually hinder the integration of the Haredi community into Israeli society rather than promoting it.

Op-ed

Finding Middle Ground

In an op-ed in Israel Hayom, IDI researcher Adv. Haim Zicherman argues that a temporary extension of the Tal Law would help the growing trend of ultra-Orthodox enlistment in the IDF and would enable volunteering for civilian service to continue.

Article

The “People’s Army”?

This article presents the main milestones in the recurring attempts to put a satisfactory arrangement for the deferment of military service for yeshiva students in place. In doing so, it surfaces the changes that have occurred over time in the constitutional, legal, and public responses and attitudes on this issue.

Op-ed

Ultra-Orthodox in the IDF: A Ticking Time Bomb

To encourage enlistment, Israel should adopt a conscription model that is cognizant of the ultra-Orthodox fear of erosion of their identity and employs both positive and negative economic incentives.

Press Release

Supreme Court Strikes Down ultra-Orthodox Exemption From Military

IDI responds to high court ruling: “The time has come for our politicians to demonstrate leadership and work to enact a more equitable and effective arrangement.”

Op-ed

Springboard to Employment: How Ultra-Orthodox Men Benefit from IDF Service

Army service is an extremely powerful “employment engine” for most ultra-Orthodox men whose religious education does not provide them with the general background or professional training necessary for joining the work force outside the ultra-Orthodox sector.