Israeli Moms Threatening to Keep Their Kids Out of the Army Over Haredi Exemptions
A woman holding a sign at Sunday’s protest in Tel Aviv that reads: “We will not serve a dictator, terrorists, draft dodgers.”Credit: David Bachar
Judy Maltz writes in Haaretz
Hundreds of angry Israeli moms blocked the main gate to the army induction center in Tel Aviv early Sunday morning, threatening to discourage their children from enlisting unless the ultra-Orthodox were stripped of their long-standing draft exemption.
Chanting “Either everyone, or no one” and carrying signs that read “The blood of our sons and daughters is not cheaper,” the women were protesting a proposed new law that would enshrine the exemption forever by deeming Torah study a “critical service.”
Upon instructions from the police, the protesters vacated a narrow path leading up to the main gate so that conscripts ordered to report for their first day of military duty would not get into trouble for being late.
However, with this path not visible from the main road, drivers passing by during the early morning rush hour could easily be confused into thinking that the Tel Hashomer induction center had been taken siege by a bunch of middle-aged women clad in purple T-shirts bearing the name of their new movement: The Mothers’ Front.
Maya Ashkenazi. “I don’t think it’s fair that my child should have to put his life in jeopardy just because he was born into a secular family.”Credit: David Bachar
The draft exemption for male yeshiva students has long been a source of tension in Israeli society – to the point that it has led to the downfall of several governments. But never has there been so much anger and resentment among Israelis who serve in the army against those who do not.
The current government – the most religious and right-wing in the nation’s history – has a powerful Haredi component that is seen as responsible, or at least complicit, in many of the recent initiatives widely regarded as undermining democracy.
Summing up the sentiment of many of the protesters in the crowd, one woman held a sign stating: “We will not allow draft-evaders to draft our sons.”
The inequality of the burden of military service was not the only issue fueling these mothers’ rage, though. Many also expressed fears about sending their children to an army in which they had lost their faith and trust.
Rinat Ashkenazi, a 54-year-old mother from the Tel Aviv suburb of Ra’anana, held a sign that read: “We will not serve a dictator, terrorists and draft dodgers. Enough!”
“I have no trust in the ability of those at the helm to lead the army,” said the businesswoman, who currently has a daughter serving.
“If the best of our soldiers and pilots are not willing to serve any longer, why should our innocent children be called up?” asked Ashkenazi, referring to the fact that thousands of reservists and volunteers recently announced they will no longer show up for duty in protest at the government’s efforts to weaken the judiciary.
She said, however, that she was willing to give the ultra-Orthodox a pass on the army so long as they agreed to perform some form of national service that could benefit society, rather than learning in yeshiva.
Maya Ashkenazi (no relation) was among a group of protesters who traveled several hours from the northern kibbutz of Afikim to attend the rally.
Wearing a khaki-colored T-shirt identifying her as a “Mom of Boys,” she said she had made the long journey because “I don’t think it’s fair that my child should have to put his life in jeopardy just because he was born into a secular family.”
Her oldest son had received his first draft notice, she added, saying she had made her feelings known to him. “I told him that I don’t want him serving in combat, and especially not in the occupied territories.”
‘Declaration of civil war’
The Sunday morning protest was timed to coincide with one of the year’s big draft days. The induction center, known in Hebrew as the “Bakum,” is the base where all new recruits are processed before being sent out to the units where they will eventually serve. It is at this central base they receive their uniforms and other equipment, as well as vaccinations.
In Israeli terms, this enlistment day is no less a milestone or rite of passage than high school graduation day. It is common for parents, and even entire families, to accompany their children to the induction center and bid them farewell when they board their buses to their next destination.
Founded three months ago, the Mothers’ Front grew out of the national protest movement. It drew national attention a few weeks ago when a video clip its leaders shared on social media went viral, featuring their confrontation with a prominent ultra-Orthodox politician. The video showed the women arriving at the Bnei Brak home of United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni and presenting him with a mock draft notice for his 18-year-old grandson.
They showed up a day after members of Gafni’s party had submitted a proposed Basic Law that would guarantee the draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva boys. Ayelet Hashachar, a founder of the Mothers’ Front, told Gafni in the video that, as far as she was concerned, this was “a declaration of civil war.” (The Basic Law on Torah Study was quickly tabled following widespread condemnation, including from some members of the governing coalition.)
According to Hashachar, the movement has more than 12,000 followers on its various social media platforms.
“We’re afraid to send our children to the army because we see what’s happening there,” said the 46-year-old attorney who has three children, including a son serving in the navy. “Our prime minister fired the defense minister because he didn’t want to heed his warnings about the judicial overhaul; he refused to meet with the chief of staff; and he ignores the warnings of other military leaders,” she said. “The lives of our children are not worth anything anymore. Nobody cares about them.”
Agamit Gelb: “For women like us, as soon as we find out we’re pregnant with a boy, we know that 18 years down the road he will no longer belong to us – and that’s a frightening thought.”
Many of the protesters stuck beach balls under their shirts to feign pregnancy. On the T-shirts covering their bulging bellies, stickers read: “Property of the Israel Defense Forces.
“For women like us, as soon as we find out we’re pregnant with a boy, we know that 18 years down the road he will no longer belong to us – and that’s a frightening thought,” explained Agamit Gelb, a mother of three boys and one of the leaders of the Mothers’ Front. “A Haredi mom doesn’t have to live with those fears.”
The sidewalk leading up to the induction center was separated from the protesters by a fence. One woman in a purple T-shirt leaned over the fence and wished each recruit, along with his or her family, good luck as they passed by. Some ignored her, many thanked her, a few stuck out their middle fingers, but many more gave her a thumbs up.
One father, accompanying his son through the gate, denounced the protesters as “leftist traitors.”
A few steps behind him, another father had a very different reaction to these women in purple. “Kudos,” he said. “I love you all.”
This article is reproduced in its entirety.