The haredim 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 haredim are exempted from the IDF's policy of universal conscription. This thesis proposes three hypotheses to determine why Israel's haredim do not serve in the IDF. First, the haredim do not serve in the IDF because they do not want to; second, the haredim do not serve because they hold pacifistic political opinions; and third, the haredim 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 haredi worldview and the cultural characteristics of Israel's haredi communities suggests that the haredim do not want to serve in the IDF for self-interested reasons. Furthermore, a survey of haredi political opinions indicates that the majority of haredim exhibit a hawkish and aggressive political orientation. Finally, an analysis of individual haredi voices reveals that haredi yeshiva students consider their Torah studies to be an integral component to Israel's wartime activities. Contrary to the expectations of this thesis, haredi 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.
","abstract_html":"<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>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Politzer, Jay M"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Karen Feste, Ph.D.","Gregory Robbins","Joan Winn"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z","subjects":["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"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/519","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Karen Feste, Ph.D.","Gregory Robbins","Joan Winn"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Politzer, Jay M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["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"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Peace Makers or Draft Dodgers: Haredi Resistance to Israeli Military Conscription"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Karen Feste, Ph.D.","Gregory Robbins","Joan Winn"],"dc:creator":["Politzer, Jay M"],"dc:date.available":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The haredim 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 haredim are exempted from the IDF's policy of universal conscription. This thesis proposes three hypotheses to determine why Israel's haredim do not serve in the IDF. First, the haredim do not serve in the IDF because they do not want to; second, the haredim do not serve because they hold pacifistic political opinions; and third, the haredim 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 haredi worldview and the cultural characteristics of Israel's haredi communities suggests that the haredim do not want to serve in the IDF for self-interested reasons. Furthermore, a survey of haredi political opinions indicates that the majority of haredim exhibit a hawkish and aggressive political orientation. Finally, an analysis of individual haredi voices reveals that haredi yeshiva students consider their Torah studies to be an integral component to Israel's wartime activities. Contrary to the expectations of this thesis, haredi 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.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/519"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["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"],"dc:title":["Peace Makers or Draft Dodgers: Haredi Resistance to Israeli Military Conscription"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z"}