No to war on Haredim, yes to Israel's security
Eli Paley argues that the policy of sanctions and legal coercion regarding Haredi conscription has failed, and proposes a three-year interim order to freeze the legal conflict, while focusing on integrating working Haredim into reserve duty and security systems.
Eli Paley, publisher of the "Mishpacha" newspaper and founder of the Institute for Haredi Strategy and Policy, argues that the policy of sanctions and legal coercion on the issue of Haredi conscription has failed. He notes that parties that made the conscription struggle the centerpiece of their election campaign, such as Yoaz Hendel and Ofer Winter, did not pass the electoral threshold. Paley presents a poll by his institute, which he claims shows that 58% of the public see preserving the world of Torah as a national interest, and 78% prefer an arrangement recognizing the exemption of Torah scholars over continued sanctions. He proposes a three-year interim order, during which the sanctions policy and legal conflict would be frozen, and a national authority would be established to integrate Haredim into security and emergency systems, focusing on recruiting working Haredim for reserve duty. The article emphasizes that the goal is not to defeat the Haredim in the conscription struggle, but to build a long-term security partnership.