Religious Zionist Israelis growing increasingly critical of Haredim, new survey shows
Poll says that just over half of religious Zionists recognize ultra-Orthodox contributions to society, down since last year, as more respondents want to see ‘equal burden-bearing’
Rossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
Religious Zionist Israelis are becoming increasingly critical of ultra-Orthodox communities and their disconnect from the rest of the nation, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Truman Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Just over 900 people, marking a representative sample of Israel’s Jewish population, were polled in the survey, which follows a similar study conducted in July 2024. The findings show that an increasing number of religious Jews believe it is important that the Haredim share the burden of military service with the rest of the nation. At the same time, fewer of them believe that the Gaza war has highlighted contributions that the ultra-Orthodox make to the general society.
“Investigating these trends is important because the ultra-Orthodox society is becoming increasingly crucial in Israel, in policy decisions, political decisions, and internal processes regarding the war and the conflict,” Truman Institute head Prof. Ifat Maoz told The Times of Israel over the phone. “For this reason, we need to understand what their attitudes are regarding their participation in Israeli society and the war.”
The survey is part of a larger endeavor by the Truman Center to conduct more research on Haredi society.
Religious Zionist Israelis largely enlist in the army, and tend to be over-represented in combat units.
Young Haredi men registered in ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, meanwhile, have received blanket exemptions from mandatory military service for decades, a practice that the High Court of Justice outlawed in June. Since then, Israel has been grappling with a profound social and political crisis, as ultra-Orthodox political parties have been steadfast in refusing any compromise to start drafting at least some Haredi youth. The rest of the country is increasingly frustrated by their unwillingness to share the burden of service, even as the nation fights the longest war in its history.
Asked whether they agreed with the statement, “Against the backdrop of the war, the importance of equal burden-bearing and the recruitment of Haredim into the army is increasing,” 77.7 percent of religious respondents said they did, up from 68.6% in July.
At the same time, religious respondents were less likely to express appreciation for Haredim’s contribution to the country. Only 52.9% agreed with the statement, “The war emphasized the partnership and contribution of Haredi society to Israeli society,” down from 65.1% in July, while the percentage of those who disagreed rose from 35% to 47.2%.
In both cases, the most recent results narrowed the gap between religious respondents and the general Jewish public, 81.5% of whom agreed with the first statement and 43.1% with the second.
“The religious community used to generally view the ultra-Orthodox as allies, so it is interesting to notice the trend,” Maoz said.
The researcher also said it was important to note how ultra-Orthodox respondents reacted to the questions.
Some 86% agreed with the statement praising Haredi contribution to society.
“There is a large gap between how the ultra-Orthodox see themselves and how the rest of society sees them, but I believe that this data still shows that they do want to contribute and value being part of the nation,” Maoz noted.
In addition, the percentage of Haredim who support ultra-Orthodox conscription to the army rose from 19% in July to 24%.
“We are doing further analysis to understand better how significant this increase is, but in my view, it does show that something is happening within the community,” Maoz noted.
The Times of Israel Community.