One Zionist rabbi recently posted an article where he said that the only way to get the Charedim to enlist in the army is to force them. First - cut off all funding [i.e. make sure they have no money to feed their children] and if that doesn't work - put them all [men and women] in jail.
He was dead serious.
Wow.
Hope it doesn't come to that.
There are many people in the country who would like to see the Charedim forced to enlist in the army. This is a much longer discussion but a thought:
It is important to remember that the only reason there is a war against Jews in Israel is b/c there are Jews in Israel. The idea of "Jew" is defined by the Torah which is what the Charedim are perpetuating. The only reason that we are in Israel is b/c in the Torah is says that Israel is the land of the Jews. And again - it is the Charedim who are most authentically perpetuating the Torah that singles out Israel as the land of the Jews. One must admit, regardless of their personal beliefs, that the Charedi lifestyle revolves around Torah. All day long, Shachris, Mincha, Maariv, long learning sdarim, a specifically unique mode of dress and speech etc. etc. Everything revolves around being Jewish. So the whole war is essentially about what Torah Jews are living. And yet people want to erase that. Not [only] non-Jewish people but Jewish and even otherwise religious people.
Charedim believe that their religion requires them to be not on the battlefield but in Yeshiva. It was the opinion of the most [not all] of the greatest Torah scholars of the last two centuries. If they are forced to go against that, Israel, the land of the Jews, would be the only country in the world which forces Jews not to keep Judaism [as they see it].
This doesn't in any way negate the value of the soldiers or the army. We need soldiers and we need a strong army. In the meantime we need to fight בדרך הטבע. But I do think that freedom to worship Hashem as one sees fit should be granted in the land of the Jews. If the Charedim are wrong and sinful them Hashem will judge them. [If I go to שמים and they ask me why I didn't serve I will ask to bring in the Chazon Ish, Brisker Rov, Chebiner Rav, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, Rav Avraham Genechovsky, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Eliashiv, Rav Shlomo Fischer, Rav Ovdiah Yosef etc. etc. as my lawyers. They understand the sugya much much better than I do].
During the Vietnam war there were many celebrated conscientious objectors to the draft. Bnei Yeshiva can be seen as conscientious objectors and people will have to live with the fact that there are other people with a different set of values than what they hold.
The Charedim don't force their way of life on others. They are not [and don't wish to] force everybody to wear black and white and learn full time in Yeshiva. They also shouldn't be forced.
Like I said - this is a much bigger topic but I shared a thought to ponder.
