Haredi soldier (file)
Haredi soldier (file)Yaakov Naumi - Flash90

Lieutenant Colonel (Reserves) Rabbi Moshe Raived, cites Yair Lapid's (Yesh Atid) draft law as the point which ruined the relationship between haredim and the IDF.

The Equal Burden of Service law, which passed in 2014, effectively gave criminal status to haredim who don't obey draft orders. Previously, haredim could obtain a draft exemption, provided they continued to study in yeshiva until the age of 28.

Raived, who served as a rabbi in the Air Force, and is among the founders of the "Shachar" project for integrating haredim into the IDF, says the law made drafting into a religious issue - and haredim are not buying it.

Previously, the rabbi claims, haredim joined the military out of a will to serve. When Lapid got their hackles up by devaluing their Torah learning - which haredim believe protects Israel and the world - haredim cooled to the idea of the draft.

Rabbi Raived added that he had decided to quit his job as Division of Human Resources Advisor for Haredi Matters after he had understood that the IDF had no intention of standing by its agreements with the haredi public. Such agreements included maintaining a separation between male and female haredi soldiers on base, according to Kol Israel.

After Yesh Atid lost its place in government in the 2015 elections, haredim effectively neutralized the law by postponing its implementation until 2023.