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Jul 11, 2012
Rejected Haredim Defend The Haredi Position
There have been a number of articles written in the Hebrew media presenting the "haredi side" of the "haredi draft" issue. Some of these articles are better than others, and none of them have really been haredi PR people so they are more like personal opinions- op-eds - that tell a nice story, often anecdotal, but don't really present an effective argument.
What I find especially interesting about these articles, is that, for the most part, it is my impression, these articles are generally being written by people who have failed the system, or by people who have been rejected from the system.
They are young guys who are working. I have no idea what they did about army service, but if they were standard haredim they would be in kollel right now for at least another 5 years or so. They wear colored shirts and use the Internet for business and pleasure. They (the ones whom I am familiar with) are supporters of TOV rather than Degel and UTJ, and as such their kids will not be going to mainstream haredi schools - either because they have been or will be rejected, or because they will choose to give their children a broader education.
Yet despite the differences, despite not being accepted as a full member of the haredi community, these people are all writing articles in defense of the hard-line haredi position regarding army service.
Somehow, despite all the bad these people have encountered, at the end of the day they consider themselves haredi and when push comes to shove they will defend the haredi position - even though they know it doesn't work for a lot of people including themselves.
I think it was very expressed very well in the following round-table discussion. This forum was established to discuss the debate of the haredi draft, parallel to the Plesner Committee. The speaker in this clip is Chanoch Werdyger. Werdyger is the head of the national TOV party and has been active in finding solutions for Haredim to be able to enter the workforce. If you follow haredi newspapers and websites, you will find almost nothing but scorn for Werdyger and his people.
If you watch the clip you will hear Werdyger talk about how the haredi community is being put into a corner and like it or not he has to come to it's defense. The whole situation has thrown back his efforts years backwards, and he has his own suggestions - re-legalize the Tal Law and make changes to resolve the issues that it was supposed to, but did not, resolve.
Interesting phenomenon...
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What I find especially interesting about these articles, is that, for the most part, it is my impression, these articles are generally being written by people who have failed the system, or by people who have been rejected from the system.
They are young guys who are working. I have no idea what they did about army service, but if they were standard haredim they would be in kollel right now for at least another 5 years or so. They wear colored shirts and use the Internet for business and pleasure. They (the ones whom I am familiar with) are supporters of TOV rather than Degel and UTJ, and as such their kids will not be going to mainstream haredi schools - either because they have been or will be rejected, or because they will choose to give their children a broader education.
Yet despite the differences, despite not being accepted as a full member of the haredi community, these people are all writing articles in defense of the hard-line haredi position regarding army service.
Somehow, despite all the bad these people have encountered, at the end of the day they consider themselves haredi and when push comes to shove they will defend the haredi position - even though they know it doesn't work for a lot of people including themselves.
I think it was very expressed very well in the following round-table discussion. This forum was established to discuss the debate of the haredi draft, parallel to the Plesner Committee. The speaker in this clip is Chanoch Werdyger. Werdyger is the head of the national TOV party and has been active in finding solutions for Haredim to be able to enter the workforce. If you follow haredi newspapers and websites, you will find almost nothing but scorn for Werdyger and his people.
If you watch the clip you will hear Werdyger talk about how the haredi community is being put into a corner and like it or not he has to come to it's defense. The whole situation has thrown back his efforts years backwards, and he has his own suggestions - re-legalize the Tal Law and make changes to resolve the issues that it was supposed to, but did not, resolve.
Interesting phenomenon...
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IMHO these articles have been absolutely pathetic. They have presented really bad arguments and just fanned the flames. I don't believe that they have convinced a single Chiloni, in fact, if anything they have convinced the chilonim that the Charedim really have no arguments and that they (the chilonim) are right.
ReplyDeleteSee my posts:
Charedim: We won't be drafted because "we aren't interested"
Why do Charedim write these stupid articles in secular newspapers?
It just doesn't stop; Another Charedi wrote an idiotic article about the draft
Here's the thing: there's this attitude that people are being forced to make a choice. As a friend of mine (who's not Chareidi but very RWMO) said, "Well, if it comes down to siding with the government or the Gedolim, as a frum Jew I have to side with the Gedolim".
ReplyDeletePush comes to shove, the "Gedolim" could go Jonestown and these people will still defend them because they see their loyalty to Torah as inseparable from their loyalty to these leaders.
i don't think that when push comes to shove, most people would make that choice. in gush qatif the srugim chose the state over the rabbis. a smart state wouldn't force the frum to make that choice but if it comes to that, most (i think) will go with the state. and for a simple reason: at the end of the day, the rabbis can't take responsibility for these folks. the state can.
DeleteMaybe these articles are not written by haredim who feel stronly tied to haredi camps. Maybe these articles are written by ex-haredim, who want to put up a straw man which others may knock down.
ReplyDelete