Why Arresting Haredi Deserters is a Waste of Time

In the heart of Israel's ongoing existential struggle, where soldiers bleed on the fronts in Gaza and Lebanon, the Military Police's latest antics read like a bad joke from a bygone era. Sporadic arrests of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students dodging the draft, grabbing one at an airport bound for a pilgrimage, another sparking riots in Ramat Gan where protesters flip police vans, aren't law enforcement; they're theater. And lousy theater at that.

These token takedowns, ramped up since the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling shredded blanket exemptions for Haredim, do less than nothing to fix the IDF's crippling manpower crisis. They're a feeble flex of authority and it's high time we call it out for the farce it is.

Let's be brutally honest: Israel's defense isn't bolstered by hauling in a handful of deserters each month. With over 1,200 targeted in 2025 alone, many walk free after a slap-on-the-wrist summons or a quick release for religious observances. It's selective enforcement at its most spineless, designed not to integrate the ultra-Orthodox community but to appease secular Israelis screaming for equality while avoiding a full-blown coalition meltdown.

Netanyahu's government, propped up by Haredi parties dead-set against the draft, tiptoes around real reform like it's a minefield. No new conscription law since the old one expired? Check. Mass ignoring of summons by 60-70% of called-up Haredim? Double check. This isn't strategy; it's stagnation, leaving the burden on the same exhausted reservists who've been cycling through hell since October 7, 2023.

The arrests serve one purpose: deterrence optics. Stiffened penalties post-Hamas horrors signal "we mean business," but who are we kidding? They deter nothing when the root problem festers untouched, a societal schism where Torah study is pitted against national service, and politicians play hot potato with legislation.

Critics in the Knesset are spot-on: This isn't the army's mess to mop up; it's a political and cultural quagmire demanding bold strokes, not baby steps. Imagine the outrage if secular dodgers got the same kid-glove treatment. Equality? Hardly. It's hypocrisy wrapped in olive drab.

Enough with the charade. Israel needs a seismic shift: A comprehensive draft law that respects Haredi values while mandating service, perhaps through national civilian programs or tailored military roles. Incentives for enlistment, not just threats. And yes, mass enforcement if push comes to shove, but only after the Knesset grows a spine and passes something substantive. These piecemeal arrests? They're insulting to the troops on the line, a distraction from true threats like Hezbollah drones and Iranian proxies. If we're serious about survival in 2025's powder keg, drop the performative policing and forge real unity. Anything less is surrender disguised as strength.

More than all of this though, the answer to the unsolvable draft crisis lies with the Haredi rabbinic leadership, and until we get them on board with sending (at least some) of their Yeshiva students (or better yet, those who don't actually want to learn in yeshiva), the crisis will prevail.

The National Religious will cry about unfair burden sharing, the Leftists will slam the Haredim, the Haredim will pray for salvation against the 'evil' government and nothing will change.

But that is really the biggest challenge yet, and it may prove insurmountable- getting the Haredi leadership on board with sending Haredi youth and men to the army, and yes, even if it's a few thousand, that will go a long way to healing Israel's aching heart and easing the burden on reservists and National Religious soldiers.