Amit Segal on the Interview With the Editor of the Hebrew Yated

 

What if the editor of a major American newspaper announced that the US military is basically irrelevant? That a dozen elderly scholars with enough Bible study under their belts could defeat China, Russia, and Iran combined? That fighter jets don’t fly because of engineering or pilots, but because God is pleased with how much Scripture is being learned in Dallas? If that sounds insane, welcome to an average Tuesday in Israeli politics. Because this is almost exactly what Yisrael Friedman, editor of Yated Ne’eman, one of the country’s leading ultra-Orthodox newspapers, told

@AkivaWeisz

in a jaw-dropping interview. Let’s start with the basics: why don’t Haredim serve in the IDF? Friedman’s answer isn’t subtle, to say the least. “Those who save the state are those who learn Torah, so someone who harms Torah learners harms state security,” he says. “Mathematically, what is incorrect about that? We are preserving the Jewish people, and in this matter of preserving the Jewish people there is no equality of burden — only we contribute.” Read that again. Only they contribute. So fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran doesn’t count? “That’s not preserving the Jewish people; that’s preserving the Israeli people,” he says. Great, so Friedman thinks the IDF is pointless? Not quite. “If the yeshivas don’t study, the tanks won’t start. The planes won’t take off.” Ok, so perhaps, you’re hoping, deep down, he respects Israel’s astonishing military and intelligence capabilities. Nope. “The army has never won because of the number of soldiers,” Friedman told Weisz. “At West Point they study wars from around the whole world, but not Israel’s wars — you know why? Because the rules of war don’t apply here. There is no logic here.” But what about the fact that the IDF is missing 10,000-12,000 soldiers? Friedman isn’t rattled in the slightest. His solution for the army? “It lacks learners!” And then, citing a story of a famous rabbi from 19th century Europe, he asserts that “we need to increase study in the yeshivas even more, and then 15 elderly soldiers will win all these wars, and I believe this with complete faith.” Weisz, however, had a trick question up his sleeve — or so he thought. Israel, after all, is full of religious Zionists, Jews who are Orthodox (and often spend years learning Torah and other religious texts), yet are fully integrated into Israeli society and serve in the military just like everyone else. Indeed, according to some surveys, the number of religious Zionists in reserve IDF duty since October 7 make up almost twice their share of the population. Friedman’s response? He dismisses them as “people whose kippah on their head is merely a social identity badge, barely connected to any religious reality.” If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably gathered that Friedman isn’t exactly worried about offending others. There is one group, however, that he says the ultra-Orthodox have sworn to never offend. “We don’t go against the United States,” he told Weisz. Why? Because “we [Israel] are an American protectorate.” Still haven’t given up? Great, because I now want to address the question I’ve been asking in this newsletter: what is the Haredi business model? Right-wing Israelis have a vision for the country. So does the left. But what does the ultra-Orthodox public want? For that too, Friedman has an answer: “Yated Ne’eman, like the entire Haredi public, has always carried two passports in its suit pocket: a Jewish passport and an Israeli passport. The Jewish passport is 3,300 years old, since we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Israeli passport is 80 years old.” “As long as we weren’t asked to choose, we had two passports… But the State of Israel forced us to choose: either-or. It does not allow us today, under the current circumstances, to have both. 3,300 years ago, we chose the Jewish passport, and let there be no mistake: this is what we are fighting for.”

Well, that was a lot to take in. There is, however, a question that Friedman didn’t answer: do the Haredim reallybelieve this story that he just sold us? Some certainly do, and some most likely don’t. And while the different sects within the Haredi world will all offer varying takes on what you’ve just read, perhaps now you have a greater understanding of the anger (to put it mildly) that other Israelis feel towards the ultra-Orthodox. After all, this isn’t the musings of a fringe crank. Friedman’s worldview dominates Israel’s Haredi political parties, which control the coalition’s survival and shape draft policy, welfare budgets, and so much more. These ideas aren’t whispered in private — they are mainstream inside a community that may well be 1/3 of the country in the near future, leaving many in the Jewish state increasingly worried that they’re running out of time to stop the ship from sinking. But for those Israelis who would dare interfere with the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, Friedman has a warning: “This way of life cannot be stopped, because the day it stops, neither we nor they will remain. There will be no state here, no people here, and the Land of Israel will lie desolate.” Truth be told, Friedman may well be right. But not for the reason he thinks.