Shortly after there was even talk about how the draft law had killed the haredi draft and almost none had joined the draft since the new law was raised. They spoke about how changes must be done through dialogue, forcing it on the haredi community would only cause a reverse reaction, and the proof was in the pudding.
Personally, I thought it was too short term to know anything, and the test would be after a couple of years, after things settle down. During the height of the battle, the community would circle its wagons. It is when things quiet down a bit that we will know the real effect.
That time might be now, though it is sooner than I would have expected.
According to Haaretz, the Knesset has reported that there has been a 39% increase in young Haredi men joining the draft over the past year, when compared to the same period last year. 1972 haredim have joined the draft, with 863 of them going to front line units. The target number for this year was set at 2000 young Haredi men, and 1972 is awfully close to that target.
Last year 1416 joined the army, and the year before that saw 1327 joining the army.
And look, the world has not come to end, and torah learning has not come to an end.
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Not sure how significant these numbers are - you would have to compare them to the numbers receiving an exemption (which probably also increased)
ReplyDeleteBy 30% in one year?
ReplyDelete- This was not a typical year. There were the kidnappings and the war, which would increase people's incentive to join the army.
ReplyDelete- Related, this statistic is given without any context. Did the overall draft rate stay the same or go up? If it also went up, it's less impressive.
- More missing context - was last year's Charedi draft rate typical? Perhaps it always fluctuates, and a 30% jump is not unusual. Perhaps last year's draft rate among Chareidim was lower than usual. This wouldn't be unusual, since the election was framed (for Chareidim) as a fight for their way of life, and they were discouraged, more than usual, from joining the draft. So the 30% "jump" may just represent a return to normal.
- Perhaps most importantly - was the classification of "chareidi" broadened? It certainly would be in Yesh Atid's interest to do so. (Many believed classifying Dov Lipman as Chareidi is a broadening of the term which, coincidentally, also was to Yesh Atid's benefit.
The statistic seems relevant, but it may not be meaningful.
-The drafting process is much too long to already see the influence of the kidnappings and the war.
Delete-The overall draft, because it is mandatory, by definition it cannot fluctuate... And even if it did, in this case, because of the cultural separation between the seculars and the haredim, there wouldn't be any correlation.
-As written, last year's draft was like the year before, and over the years it usually went up and up but at a much lower rate, at most 10% I'd say. 39% is really unusual.
-It's not yesh atid who are giving the statistics, but the same people that did it last year and the year before.
Please report about how some people are questioning the accuracy of the numbers released by the government.
ReplyDeleteA Haredi organization is saying that the numbers and statements published by Yesh Atid are like Hamas saying they won the war. http://www.inn.co.il/News/News.aspx/283503
Ugh what's with this comparison to our enemies!? Disgusting rhetoric. Undermines any content they claim to have hiding under their hats.
DeleteIt's not a haredi organization. Hiddush is a non-religious organization that works against religious coercion.
DeleteThese numbers are accurate, but are misleading. The increase was from the part of the year before the law passed. After the law passed, there was a sharp decrease.
ReplyDelete