Haredi MK says he opposes IDF service because Orthodox soldiers ‘leave religion’ in the army
UTJ’s Pindrus sparks furor with response when asked how the ultra-Orthodox can refuse to share the burden, given the high death toll among religious Zionist soldiers
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus caused an uproar on Monday after saying that he cannot support mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and cited the “heavy price” that national religious soldiers pay by serving in the military — namely, he claimed, that they “leave religion.”
During a conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute, the Haredi lawmaker was asked, “When you look at the vast rate of fallen soldiers from the religious Zionist [community], how can you explain… that it still does not prompt the community that you represent to come and say… we are coming to share the burden?”
Pindrus responded that he would not support Haredi enlistment, even though his community’s failure to serve means he is embarrassed to “look [national religious] Jews in the eye.”
“But there is one thing that I also see,” he went on. “I see the price that [national religious soldiers] are paying — in leaving religion. That’s the reason I’m not there [backing haredi military service].
“I see the price and they are paying a very heavy price,” Pindrus declared, alluding to the fact that national religious soldiers’ service exposes them to the secular world, prompting some to adopt a less religious lifestyle.
The national religious community, unlike the ultra-Orthodox, does perform mandatory IDF service and has suffered heavy losses during more than 14 months of Israel’s multi-front war.
MK Yitzhak Pindrus, Chair of the United Torah Judaism Party, in response to a question from Kan News’ political correspondent @diklaaharon, regarding the issue of Haredi enlistment and the enormous price paid by the Religious Zionist sector in the war: “I have no way to look them… pic.twitter.com/CJ3QVMvYCx
— Israel Democracy Institute (@IDIisrael) December 30, 2024
The MK’s comments quickly caused a stir, with fellow Knesset members saying they were an example of the “disconnect” between the Haredi leadership and the rest of the country.
Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen, outraged by Pindrus’s reference to the “heavy price” some soldiers ostensibly pay in leaving religion, asked: “What about the price [those who are killed in service] are paying by leaving life?”
“The first anti-Zionist coalition continues to normalize the exemption law, while disrespecting the working and serving public,” she charged.
“I am coming from the funeral of [Staff Sgt. Yuval Shoham], the hero, and I see this,” protested MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen of Benny Gantz’s National Unity party.
Shoham, who was killed in northern Gaza on Sunday, was a member of the religious Zionist community in Jerusalem. The IDF said he was killed in an operational accident during fighting in the Jabalia area.
Farkash-Hacohen said Pindrus’s comments were “another example of the disconnect and moral decline of the Haredi leadership during this war.”
“What about the hatred of religion and religious people that this government and people like you have fomented in the general public?” she asked of Pindrus.
National Unity MK Matan Kahana said Pindrus’s comments were “mainly sad, because it shows that our Haredi brothers don’t even begin to understand what we are going through.”
Netanyahu promises draft bill to UTJ
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called United Torah Judaism party chairman and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf from his hospital room, only a day after undergoing prostate surgery, to promise that the Knesset will advance a conscription law, as demanded by the ultra-Orthodox.
According to the Kan national broadcaster, Goldknopf replied that Netanyahu previously made a similar promise and declined to back down from a threat to vote against a budget-related bill in the Knesset tomorrow unless presented with a draft of a bill that satisfies his demands.
Goldknopf said Agudat Yisrael — the Hasidic faction within UTJ — would vote against the bill as a “warning sign,” the Walla news site reported, citing an Agudat Yisrael official.
Goldknopf reportedly said he is “not looking to bring down the government” and just wants Netanyahu “to finally fulfill his commitment.”
On Monday morning, the ultra-Orthodox Hamodia daily reported that members of Agudat Yisrael believe there is “no point” in supporting the Trapped Profits Law before the issue of IDF exemptions for yeshiva students is settled, and will therefore vote against it.
Passing legislation to enshrine ultra-Orthodox exemptions from military service after they were struck down by the High Court this summer has become one of Goldknopf’s chief legislative priorities.
Failure to pass a budget by March 31 would result in the automatic dissolution of the government and early elections, adding potency to this threat.
Legislation dealing with the issue of enlistment is currently stuck in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, whose chairman, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, has said that the needs of the IDF must come first and that the panel would only advance the legislation if lawmakers can reach a “broad consensus” on the matter.
In a landmark ruling in June, the High Court of Justice ruled unanimously that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the military since there was no longer any legal framework to continue the decades-long practice of granting them blanket exemptions from army service.
The ultra-Orthodox parties are demanding contentious legislation that broadly maintains the widescale exemption from IDF or other national service of ultra-Orthodox males. Netanyahu, whose governing majority depends on the support of the UTJ and the second ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, has been seeking to meet their demand, in the face of bitter political and public opposition, especially given the unprecedented burden on the IDF, notably including reservists, more than 14 months into a multi-front war.
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