Ultra-Orthodox Israelis Are Joining the Army - WSJ - 0 views
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Soon after the May 1948 birth of the state of Israel, a meeting took place between David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, and Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, a leading religious figure and head of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox (in Hebrew, Haredi) community. The result was the Status Quo Agreement, which charted two parallel lines: one for Jewish Israelis at large, whether secular or religious, the other tailored to the needs of Haredi Jews in particular.
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Over the decades, the former “line” helped Jewish Israelis flourish in a modern state. The Haredi line restored the fortunes of a special religious world that, after being nearly destroyed in the Holocaust, was re-established. That world was upgraded with such institutions as Torah academies, synagogues, and Hasidic courts; in various subsects and religious activities; and in whole Haredi municipalities.
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According to their political leaders, most Haredim hope to sustain their religiously devout and socially reclusive lives permanently under the protection of their longstanding civic exemptions. The rest of Israel demands and expects full participation.
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