Peace Makers or Draft Dodgers: Haredi Resistance to Israeli Military Conscription

<p>The <em>haredim</em> in Israel are an ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious group who uphold the most conservative of Jewish laws. Instead of serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as all other Israelis do, the <em>haredim</em> are exempted from the IDF's policy of universal conscription. This thesis proposes three hypotheses to determine why Israel's <em>haredim</em> do not serve in the IDF. First, the<em> haredim</em> do not serve in the IDF because they do not want to; second, the <em>haredim</em> do not serve because they hold pacifistic political opinions; and third, the <em>haredim</em> do not serve because Jewish religious tradition forbids military service. To test these hypotheses, data were gathered by conducting a literature review and studying Israeli newspapers, official Israeli Government statistics, and unofficial public opinion surveys. Accordingly, a close examination of both the <em>haredi</em> worldview and the cultural characteristics of Israel's <em>haredi</em> communities suggests that the <em>haredim</em> do not want to serve in the IDF for self-interested reasons. Furthermore, a survey of <em>haredi</em> political opinions indicates that the majority of <em>haredim</em> exhibit a hawkish and aggressive political orientation. Finally, an analysis of individual <em>haredi</em> voices reveals that <em>haredi</em> yeshiva students consider their Torah studies to be an integral component to Israel's wartime activities. Contrary to the expectations of this thesis, <em>haredi</em> resistance to military service is not defined by an aversion to war or a commitment to peace, and it therefore cannot serve as a model for advocates of conflict resolution to emulate.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2010

Author dc:creator

• Politzer, Jay M

Contributors dc:contributor

• Karen Feste, Ph.D.
• Gregory Robbins
• Joan Winn

• Civil-military relations
• Conscription
• Haredim
• IDF
• Israel Defense Forces
• Israel
• Ultra-orthodox Jews
• Near and Middle Eastern Studies
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/519

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1518