November 21, 2024
Although I am not a mere assembly-line product of my geographic and educational environments, and would never wish to be so, it is important that I preface this letter with a bit about my background. I grew up primarily in the Five Towns and Queens, learned at Har Etzion (“Gush”), a premier hesder yeshiva, graduated from Yeshiva University, and I have semicha from RIETS.
I should be a rah-rah, flag-waving cheerleader for Israel and the IDF.
I am not. Not even close.
And I didn't become an “extreme leftist”, either.
I start with these remarks because you cannot dismiss all that follows as the product of someone who was brainwashed from birth to harbor negative feelings about the State of Israel and the IDF. On the contrary, my background is similar to yours, and my views closely resembled yours for most of my youth. I thought highly of your society, generally respected your rabbis, and thought I would marry a girl from your community who was serious about Torah and halacha, dressed modestly, wasn't materialistic, and wasn't poisoned by secular feminism (a small minority even then).
Over the last twenty years or so my views about the State of Israel and the IDF have evolved greatly, but gradually. I did not wake up one morning a “crazy conspiracy theorist”, nor did anyone talk me into anything. I simply observed, learned, questioned, contemplated, and reevaluated my beliefs in light of new information and understanding.
Isn't that what we are supposed to do? Isn't that what the Dati Leumi / Modern Orthodox world prides itself for, in contrast to those primitive and cultish “other” Jews you love to hate?
So I thought.
Although this was a gradual process, certain events drastically changed my perspective of the State of Israel, the IDF...and the Dati Leumi community. Here are a few critical turning points, up to the present time:
1. The destruction of Gush Katif
This occurred before I moved to Eretz Yisrael. Although for many years already the state had destroyed “settlements” and violently evicted residents who were salt of the earth to appease our enemies, seeing it unfold in my lifetime on such a large scale was a game-changer. I was revolted by the sight of IDF soldiers destroying beautiful Jewish communities, turning idealistic, independent families into refugees and beggars – if these families even remained intact – and surrendering our precious land to savages, who promptly turned it into a launching ground for further attacks deeper inside the land.
The Dati Leumi world had already flagellated itself for the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin, foolishly accepting collective responsibility and punishment for a crime it didn't commit (even according to the dubious official story). This greatly neutered its ability to protest perceived betrayals from the state, while increasing the power of the state to persecute vociferous dissenters.
The Gush Katif expulsion decapitated whatever independent spirit and ability to disobey remained in the Dati Leumi community. They failed to see through leaders of the “settlement” movement who were corrupted by the state to mislead the people and sabotage protests from within. Any suggestion of defending their land and their homes from Hebrew-speaking attackers was quickly denounced, rendering them easy prey and ensuring their defeat.
Furthermore, calls for soldiers to refuse orders were generally condemned in the Dati Leumi world. No matter the harm to one's body and soul, and that of one's fellow Jew; if a skin-headed kofer with more ribbons on his lapel than you told you to destroy a Jew's life or needlessly imperil your own, you better obey. There could be no other moral or personal consideration. The future of Israel depended on it.
The highest ideal was no longer settling and building the land, all in observance of the Torah, but serving the state and sacrificing everything for the IDF, no matter what. No matter what.
Gush Katif was the greatest collective sacrifice on the altar of the state and the IDF in my lifetime, and would become the new calling card of the Dati Leumi world.
Whereas the Dati Leumi formerly prioritized the Land of Israel, the people of Israel, and the Torah of Israel, they would now prioritize the STATE of Israel, even if it meant surrendering the land and sacrificing the people. The Torah would be reinterpreted to support the edicts of the state whenever possible, and compromised when not. Serving the state was the ultimate mitzvah, the most meaningful expression of Judaism.
I cannot fault residents of Gush Katif for standing down in the face of overwhelming force; I would likely have done the same myself, albeit with very mixed feelings. But I was horrified by the grotesque outpouring of love for soldiers who had come to destroy their homes, wreck their lives, betray their trust, shatter their dreams, and turn over their land to bloodthirsty Jew-haters. There they stood, hugging and kissing their oppressors, inviting them into their homes for tea, and sharing tender moments before the soldiers loaded them onto buses and called for the bulldozers.
This path of least resistance and display of Stockholm Syndrome was perversely rebranded by state-affiliated influencers as courage and strength. This too would become an ongoing theme in the years to come, as the appetite for “painful sacrifices” would only grow stronger with each red line crossed.
Homeowners who were less hospitable to their Hebrew-speaking enemies, expertly conditioned and brainwashed by the state notwithstanding, were violently removed. There was a schedule to keep, after all, and only so much time for staged commiseration before the mission to make Gush Katif judenrein was completed.
I could never see myself joining an army that committed such an atrocity against our people and our land.
The Dati Leumi went in the opposite direction. When push came to shove, they chose serving the state and the IDF above all else. No sacrifice would be too great, no betrayal too extreme, to alter the dynamics of this abusive relationship.
2. The prosecution and imprisonment of IDF soldiers for killing the enemy
In 2016, IDF soldier Elor Azaria shot dead an Arab terrorist who was wounded after stabbing one of his fellow soldiers. The standard procedure was to provide top-notch medical care to wounded terrorists, sometimes even at the expense of their wounded victims, and always at the expense of the citizens, after which the terrorists would receive free housing, education, and entertainment in prisons far more cushy than Jewish opponents of the state would endure, after which they would eventually be released in lopsided exchanges or “goodwill gestures”, so they could return home as heroes, become leaders, and kill more Jews.
IDF soldiers are best advised not to ever kill a terrorist unless they call a lawyer first, because dead soldiers are widely celebrated, whereas soldiers who kill the enemy and live often face persecution and prosecution that might make death seem preferable. This is the “Jewish army” we are supposed to take such pride in and support, nay, the “most moral army in the world”.
IDF soldiers are routinely thrust into especially dangerous situations when other options are available, strictly for the sake of reducing casualties to the other side, as if protecting their lives is the priority in this situation. I would never join an army that cheapened my life and wellbeing, no matter how they tried to rationalize it “for the greater good”.
The Torah does not permit us to recklessly endanger our own lives for the benefit of the other side. And it is definitely not a milchemes mitzva to be sent into death traps by kofrim and traitors who have no desire or intention to truly win, nor any sincere regard for your life and wellbeing.
In principle, every reasonable person would agree that armies require cohesion and recognized authority figures to lead the troops. An actual Jewish army, however, empowers and obligates every individual soldier to recognize the Torah and its authority figures as the ultimate authority, and to adhere to instructions only so long as they do not conflict with this ultimate authority.
The IDF, of course, pays lip service to the Torah to facilitate the absorption of religious soldiers, but they do so only for this reason, and only to the extent that is necessary. Torah law is an inconvenience to the secular state and those who serve it. As such, Torah law will be compromised whenever necessary, or hijacked to justify total subservience to the state.
The Dati Leumi community fully bought into this corruption, which is why they proudly send their children – sons and daughters – to the IDF, irrespective of how the IDF tramples the Torah. Women in the army? No problem! It's great for the IDF and great for the women!
Just yesterday they announced a new combat unit for “religious” women, bragging that this is “breaking barriers”. The only barriers it is breaking are those of halacha. It is yet another extreme abuse of our daughters and sisters in the name of “progress”.
Many in the Dati Leumi world, who by now have a casual relationship with halacha and tradition, especially when it conflicts with statism, are celebrating this, eager to thrust their daughters into the battlefield. Our ancestors are rolling in their graves.
The Dati Leumi wage feeble protest at best over mixed units, immorality, and Shabbos desecration, all of which are excellent ways of driving away Hashem's presence and protection.
The Dati Leumi have little to no concern that their young, impressionable soldiers, under the complete control of the IDF, will be indoctrinated by secular ideas and ideals. Unfortunately, much of the Dati Leumi world already does that on their own, and dismisses concerns with the ubiquitious pikuach nefesh and “greater good” cards.
It is for this reason that the Dati Leumi remain staunchly obedient when their children are maimed and killed in senseless ways, for indefensible reasons. It is for “the greater good”.
They will express outrage when the IDF imprisons, persecutes, tortures, and prosecutes soldiers for doing what a real Jewish army would celebrate, but when push comes to shove the Dati Leumi will always fall into line.
Not me. I was never one to kiss the ring of authority and blindly follow orders. Although I would be proud to kill our enemies in battle, and do not consider my life more valuable than that of those who “serve” (from the lashon of servitude), there is no way I would subject myself to such un-Jewish, unreasonably perilous conditions to both body and soul.
It's pikuach nefesh. In such a scenario, my own life and soul come first. And so would those of every Jew with his head on straight.
I can admire the idealism and dedication of the Dati Leumi community, but unfortunately they have lost their way. In fact, their beliefs about IDF servitude, which they angrily wish to be imposed especially on “haredim”, are riddled with kefira. More on this later.
3. The Covid era
It should have been no surprise that the Dati Leumi embraced the cult of Covid like no other. It was the perfect confluence of serving the state, worshipping science, virtue signaling, Communist-style conformity, and distorted expressions of pikuach nefesh.
Reasonable people could have formed different opinions about the proper response to the situation and the available information, especially in the beginning. Unreasonable people automatically believed whatever the state-approved “experts” said (all of whom read from the same script), refused to critically examine the information, refused to give fair consideration to information from other, perfectly legitimate sources of information, and made life and death decisions based primarily on fear, herd mentality, and blind obedience to authority.
The Dati Leumi community, which prides itself on intellectualism, critical thinking, and healthy skepticism of authority figures (especially Chazal, whose actual expertise in Torah and other matters they often deride) embraced strict Covid compliance as a religious imperative that superseded all others. I watched in horror as friends and loved ones, particularly those in the Dati Leumi world, transformed into something very ugly and un-Jewish, all in the name of the Torah and saving lives.
Like many others, I was thrown out of numerous minyanim by people I had known for many years and thought were friends. If they seriously believed my presence endangered their lives, it could be understood, but their actions demonstrated otherwise. They confronted me at close distance, with no concern that this needlessly endangered them even further.
But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was that they threw Jews out of their shuls and communities, publicly shaming them, in many cases destroying them and their families, without a trace of hesitation or pain. If they believed it was necessary to distance certain people for the sake of saving lives, they should have done so with tears streaming down their faces, after a sleepless night of soul-searching, prayer, and mourning. It should have torn them up inside to do this to a fellow Jew.
It did not.
They threw Jews out with malice, with self-righteous glee and an air of superiority. They enjoyed it.
Compare and contrast with how they treated Hebrew-speaking enemies in uniforms who came to demolish their communities.
Compare and contrast with how they receive politicians who come to shiva homes for photo ops, exploiting the families of the dead whose blood was spilled for some agenda.
Compare and contrast with how they embrace the families of Arab terrorists, showering them with affection, calling them brothers, and assuring them they harbor no ill-will toward them for the “misguided” actions of their kin. No matter what role the family, and the surrounding society they were part of, played in this “lone wolf” spilling Jewish blood. The Dati Leumi don't hold grudges, and they don't believe in collective punishment.
Except, of course, when it comes to haredim.
Jews who refused to bow before the golden calf of Covid – many of whom, not surprisingly, identify as haredim – were persona non grata in the Dati Leumi world. The Dati Leumi routinely referred to haredim in particular as primitive, anti-science, spreaders of disease, rodfim, an existential threat to the entire world, and other such tropes that were historically used to dehumanize Jews and incite pogroms.
The Dati Leumi did this without any qualms, because they were “right”.
The Covid era was the final nail in the coffin for any sense of camaraderie I could have with the Dati Leumi world, which had surrendered everything it once stood for and become a statist cult.
There are many things about the haredi world that I take serious issue with. Perhaps one day I will write an open letter to them as well. For example, I do not submit to their prioritization of social conformity over actual religious observance, nor will I pretend to blindly follow what they call “Da'as Torah”, which is inconsistent with both Da'as and Torah. Although I frequently daven in haredi minyanim, learn in their Batei Midrash, give tzedaka to them, and enjoy warm relationships with card-carrying haredim, they would be horrified at the thought of their daughter or sister marrying me.
There is something very wrong with that. And I have many other criticisms as well.
But I am honest to say that the haredim get it very right most of the time, far more often than the Dati Leumi. They should be appreciated, treasured, and viewed with an ayin tov, in spite of their imperfections, just like the rest of us.
If we did that, Hashem would view us with an ayin tov as well. And don't we desperately need that?
While the Dati Leumi threw me out of their minyanim during Covid without a trace of compassion (and they were wrong on every level, though many still refuse to admit it), the haredi shuls received me warmly and without issue. They were right. Thank God for them.
The Dati Leumi learned nothing from the Covid era, and would throw people out of shul tomorrow if the “Da'as Torah” they blindly follow – the heretics, eugenicists, and false prophets with certificates – instructed them to do so.
I may be temporarily permitted into Dati Leumi shuls, but, knowing what they did, and what they would do again if instructed, I will not go back to such places.
*
This brings us to the current situation. The Dati Leumi world is being absolutely decimated in Gaza and Lebanon. Their finest and bravest people are being ordered into death traps, on missions that make no sense, to capture buildings and land and then retreat, over and over again. Many of those who are fortunate not to have been killed or maimed are still traumatized from their experiences, and all of them have suffered long bouts of physical deprivation. Their families are suffering greatly as well in their absence, emotionally and financially.
The Dati Leumi world is being systematically destroyed. By the same people who have persecuted them for decades, despite their total allegiance to the state. By the same people who allowed October 7 to happen and stood down while the slaughter took place. These same people are sending the most idealistic Jewish fighters on suicide missions, with no clear purpose or end game.
The Dati Leumi know there is something wrong about all this. And they are very angry. But they are not particularly angry at the people who are giving the orders.
They are particularly angry at haredim.
They claim they just want haredim to care more and to show it, but that is a lie; that is not nearly enough.
They claim they are angry because haredim don't pay enough taxes, and receive more financial benefits from the state, but that is a lie. There is nothing intrinsically virtuous about paying more taxes. The Dati Leumi pay handsomely for accountants to minimize their tax burden as much as possible, and if they could get away scot-free they would.
If the state gave nothing to haredim, the Dati Leumi would not receive a tax refund of a single shekel. The money would simply go back into the black hole.
The Dati Leumi do not mind when millions of shekels are wasted on the most frivolous of things, on the most despicable causes, such as perversity parades.
They hardly raise a fuss when truckloads of supplies are sent to Gaza/Hamas every day by the IDF they revere. The Dati Leumi have great compassion on children in Gaza.
They have no such compassion for haredi children. They wish there were far fewer of them, and wouldn't care if they went hungry, irrespective of the comparably benign “sins” of their parents. Serves them right.
The Dati Leumi claim they are dying to protect haredim, but that too is a lie. They are dying because they made a religious ideal out of serving the state, a holy of holies out of the IDF, a religious imperative to follow orders, no matter what, and the holiest of all sacrifices to die for the state. Whether or not haredim actually benefit from this is debatable and immaterial; the Dati Leumi would have it no other way whether or not haredim offered up sacrifices as well.
Furthermore, the Dati Leumi express no seething hatred over “protecting” the “leftists” who voted for their communities to be destroyed and otherwise supported their worst enemies. Many of the communities that were hit hardest on October 7 were extreme “leftists”, and the Dati Leumi have no problem dying for them. They consider it an honor and a mitzvah.
The Dati Leumi claim they just want haredim to “share the burden”, but that too is a lie. It is immaterial to the Dati Leumi how much haredim actually contribute to society, and how much they sacrifice and suffer to do so. They will hate the haredim just as passionately no matter what.
Even if haredim joined the IDF or otherwise performed “national service” in large numbers (which no one actually wants, for haredim do not accept the IDF and the state as the ultimate authority, and will never just follow orders) the Dati Leumi would hate them just the same.
Even if the haredim joined combat units, that alone would not be enough.
It would only be enough if haredim were killed and maimed, in large numbers. That is what the Dati Leumi community really wants, the only thing that will appease their fury.
They are dying, and they want haredim to die as well.
They are being senselessly maimed, and they want haredim to be senselessly maimed as well.
They will never admit it, but that is the truth.
And they hate the haredim more than the people who are doing this to them, because that's what the people who are doing this to them conditioned them to do.
It is kefira to believe that more soldiers equals more victory.
It is kefira to believe that Torah learning, prayer, and general mitzva observance has less impact than physical hishtadlus, let alone no impact at all.
It is kefira to scorn the spiritual contributions of haredim if they do not join the IDF, irrespective of whatever spiritual contributions the Dati Leumi contribute as well.
It is kefira to demand that haredim join an army that in no way resembles a true Jewish army, and to take orders from kofrim and traitors.
It is kefira to believe that by refusing to join such an army, haredim pose an existential threat to the Jewish people or are responsible for anyone's death.
The Dati Leumi world has become rife with kefira – but even that is not its worst failing.
Its worst failing is that it has become conditioned to hate haredim, and only haredim. It is unacceptable in the Dati Leumi world to display such seething hatred for other “selfish” Jews, for leftists, for Arab terrorists, even for Amalek.
Even if the Dati Leumi had valid criticisms of the haredi world – and they do – this is totally unacceptable.
When you literally start using the language of Nazis and classic anti-semites to describe fellow Jews, maybe it's time to take a long look in the mirror and rethink your life.
And when your best people are being maimed and killed in large numbers, and you remain committed to sending them into death traps, you need Hashem to protect you far more than you deserve. This is the worst possible time to be unleashing such hatred on haredim – not the best – regardless of your differences, complaints, and desire for them to join you on the next pointless suicide mission.
The Dati Leumi community needs to stop releasing its pent-up frustrations on the haredi world and rethink a lot of things.
And if there is going to be anything left of your community, you better start soon.
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