Some came to Israel to serve the Jewish state. Haredim are rewarded for refusing to help - opinion

Over the course of this war, I served as a combat soldier and commander in Maglan. Most of us had a home to return to when we were off duty.

After weeks of combat, we would head to our parents’ homes, eat a real meal prepared by our loved ones, and relax with our families.

Some of us didn’t enjoy any of that luxury. No help with laundry after weeks, no clean sheets, no chauffeuring to the train station on Sunday mornings.

I think about these “lone soldiers” a lot these days – not just because of their strength, resilience, and sacrifice, which I witnessed firsthand, and not just because of what they represent: the very best of what Israel has to offer.

But because their story points to something that has fundamentally broken in our society.

While one group of men and women carries Israel and the burden of its security on their backs – soldiers, reservists, and their families – another group is freeloading and piggybacking on their sacrifice. They carry none of the burden.

And the gap between these groups keeps growing.

In many ways, lone soldiers are the most glaring example of that gap.

There are Israeli-born lone soldiers, a few thousand in number, many from haredi (ultra-Orthodox) or disadvantaged backgrounds, who choose to serve despite immense obstacles, without their families’ support, and often in the face of outright hostility.

Alongside them are lone soldiers from overseas, many of whom were not born here and were under no obligation to enlist. They came out of pure Zionism, many choosing to do so after October 7, aware of the great risks they were taking.

Meanwhile, just a short drive from the IDF headquarters at the Kirya, tens of thousands of healthy young men in Bnei Brak are effectively being paid by the government not to serve. What an absurdity!

How can a sane government allow a situation in which people travel thousands of miles to serve Israel while tens of thousands are, in effect, paid not to serve their country?

This situation is immoral, unfair, and unsustainable. Worse still, it is putting Israel in severe danger.

October 7 fundamentally changed Israel, including its strategic situation and security needs. Three years on, we must abandon the old security conceptzia, our old security paradigm.

We need many more soldiers to secure our borders and perimeters, and we must ensure that the army has the manpower it needs to keep the country safe.

Today, we are short 20,000 soldiers. That is an imminent threat, a flashing red light. We cannot address it unless ultra-Orthodox men begin enlisting en masse.

To put the scale of the issue into perspective: a single new haredi battalion, comprising approximately 600 soldiers, could relieve 12 reserve battalions of a full month of reserves in a single year. That amounts to nearly a quarter of a million reserve-service days.

Our plan is straightforward: flip the pyramid on its head.

Right now, the haredi population faces few incentives to serve and many reasons not to, while the government continues to reward non-enlistment. Politicians love to talk about how much they value our soldiers and reservists, especially lone soldiers, but they do little to change the equation.

Naftali Bennett's plan is simple and effective: take the tens of billions of shekels currently directed toward those who do not serve through various tax breaks, stipends, childcare benefits, and other subsidies, and redirect that money to those who have served and continue to serve, both in active duty and in the reserves.

Every single year, this money would go to people who serve, sacrifice, and put their lives on the line.

Changing the incentives is part of the solution. So is funding only those ultra-Orthodox schools that teach math and English and prepare students to participate in Israeli society and the 21st-century economy.

So is building frameworks along the lines of haredi hesder yeshivas, where ultra-Orthodox soldiers will serve in eight-hour patrol shifts, study Talmud for eight hours, and rest for eight hours.

Such frameworks can help integrate ultra-Orthodox men into the army, the workforce, and Israeli society while allowing them to maintain their distinctive identity.

This is how we begin to lighten the burden on the rest of us who serve, especially reservists, many of whom have been called up repeatedly since October 7, 2023.

Any comprehensive program must also deliver on commitments that have already been made. I have seen firsthand how difficult it can be for lone soldiers to receive the benefits they are entitled to.

Civil society organizations have told us how Israeli lone soldiers continue to fall through the cracks before, during, and after their service.

A disproportionate number of lone soldiers, including many reservists, have been among those who did not receive the psychological support they desperately needed after years of combat and trauma. The consequences have too often been tragic.

My friend Shahar Varon, who is also running for the Knesset on Bennett’s party list, and I represent a generation that has carried the load throughout this war. We are developing practical, implementable plans to ease the burden on reservists, including lone soldiers in the reserves.

These are not just plans on paper. We are working with an experienced team of managers to turn them into concrete changes through the Knesset and government ministries.

Bennett is committing to those who serve because that is who he is. He served. He believes in the generation that has fought this war, and he believes that those of us who have sacrificed must be part of fixing what is broken.

That is why I am running for a seat in the Knesset with him.

Our generation, the one so many dismissed as apathetic and glued to our screens, the “TikTok generation,” has carried this country for three years.

On the battlefield, in the reserves, at home, and at work, we kept going while our lives were put on hold, one reserve tour after another.

We took responsibility for Israel when it needed us most. With Bennett, we will make sure the State of Israel finally shows up for us.

The writer is a Knesset candidate for Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party.