Why a Haredi Spokesman is Dividing Religious Jews

When I first saw that Rabbi Avi Shafran's recent essay " Why a Gaza hostage deal is Dividing Religious Jews About a Sacred Tenet of Judaism" (reproduced below) was being run in the virulently anti-religious, far-left Israeli newspaper Haaretz (I could not find it any other media publication) I was surprised. . . until I read the essay.

HaAretz was indeed the ideal place for this flawed and biased article, which distorted the positions of Haredim while attacking the National religious parties headed by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Briefly, the article claimed that the recent support of the Haredi parties for President Biden's hostage deal was purely a reflection of the deep concern that Haredim feel about the hostages and the primacy of the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyim (releasing captives) apparently far more than their counterparts in the National Religious world. From constant prayers for the captives to signs about them in Meah Shearim and other fantasies that he conjures up, one is given to believe that the position the Haredi political parties took was based solely on altruistic love for their captive brothers and sisters and zeal for Torah values, which apparently to his mind is far greater than in the National Religious camp.

To his American audience, he went on to explain that "While Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit parties see things through what is essentially a patriotic lens, albeit one informed by religious beliefs; UTJ and Shas' view is exclusively Judaism-centric in nature." Furthermore, he claims, that for Smotrich and Ben Gvir, the release of the hostages is a lower priority. In contrast, they see "military gain and the crushing of Hamas, realistic or not, as the prime goal, above all else."

To say that only Haredi views are based on Torah values, while those of the National Religious and Otzma parties are based on a "patriotic lens albeit informed by religious beliefs" is a lie, distortion, and an insult. 

There is so much here that is offensive that it is hard to know where to begin. To say that only Haredi views are based on Torah values, while those of the National Religious and Otzma parties are based on a "patriotic lens albeit informed by religious beliefs" is a lie, distortion, and an insult. The views may be different, but they are both based on solid Torah values, albeit positions that disagree with each other. The NR and O parties believe that (1) it is a mitzvah of the highest order to take part in the National defense and that this can be done and is done such that there are many religious soldiers who fight who are Yirei Shamayim and Talmidei Chachomim who follow the Halacha that everyone is required to participate in a Milchememt Mitzvah. They follow Poskim, who, like Moshe Rabbeinu, says that it is wrong to sit back while others fight. They hold that while it may be justified for a relatively small cadre of super-dedicated men to study Torah full-time, the way of the Torah is that most people must participate in the National Defense. This short essay is not the place to discuss the enormous issue of the mitzvah and the privilege of fighting for the protection of our people. Still, it is ugly, offensive, and false to claim that it is not based on "exclusively Judaism-centric sources".

Moreover, the opposition that the National Religious and Otzma parties have to Biden's deal is not because of any lack of deep desire to see the hostages freed. There is no difference of opinion about the importance of the "Sacred Tenet of Judaism", Pidyon Shvuyim. Their opposition — shared by a majority of Israelis — is because (a) it is a bad deal in which Israel has to give up many bloodthirsty captives who, like the accursed Sinwar, will likely hurt us again, and (b) it leaves Hamas in place to regroup and not be defeated, and (c) they don't trust the US government, or anyone else, with guaranteeing our security, and many other reasons. They feel that the only way to get a deal that we can live with is to fight till the total submission of Hamas to the point that they will not threaten us again. This deal is flawed and falls far short of that.

It is obvious to any observer of the current Israeli political scene that the Haredi parties' strong support of the hostage deal is primarily due to one major issue and one minor issue, both of which stem from a strategic political calculus.

But the cynicism runs much deeper. 

Any observer of the current Israeli political scene will see that the Haredi parties' strong support of the hostage deal is primarily due to one major issue and one minor issue, both of which stem from a strategic political calculus.

The major issue is the position they have taken on the hostage deal is based on the Haredi parties' attempts to garner political support from other parties, particularly those who might be sympathetic to their draft law, which aims to exempt all Haredim from military service. This law is wildly unpopular and highly controversial and faces significant opposition; thus, securing political allies could be crucial for the Haredi parties to advance their agenda. They are, therefore, willing to sit with strange bedfellows, even the very anti-religious Yair Lapid, who Rabbi Shafran quotes as congratulating the Haredim for "displaying national responsibility." It is no secret to anyone that Lapid's concern for the hostages is a cover for his boundless enmity for PM Netanyahu, whom he continually falsely attacks as not caring about the hostages and seeking only his own political survival.

The minor issue is that there has been a noticeable trend of growing support for Otzma Yehudit among young Haredim, a shift that has caused concern among traditional Haredi parties. This trend is attributed to various factors, including a desire for more robust representation on national security issues and a more assertive stance on Jewish identity in the public sphere. Young Haredim are increasingly drawn to Otzma's bold approach to these topics, which resonates with their concerns about the future of their community and the state of Israel. As a result, Haredi parties are wary of the potential loss of votes to Otzma, as they traditionally rely on the unified support of their community to maintain political influence.

It is too bad that Rabbi Shafran engages in falsification and distortion to promote the Haredi agenda and the canard that Haredim care about the hostages more than those who are actually going out to fight for them. What is true is that much as we wish there were a good deal on the table, no deal is better than a bad deal that does more harm than good.

Published on Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) 6/13/24

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Original Safran Essay - I don't want anyone to give HaAretz a dime in order to read it.

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I'm an ultra-orthodox Jew, and I pray regularly over the course of each week at three different New York-area synagogues. I've also attended services in recent months in several other American cities. Since October 7, all of them have concluded with the recitation of a chapter or two of Psalms followed by the prayer on behalf of Jews "in distress or captivity," with the plea for divine mercy on them and that they will swiftly be delivered them from distress to comfort, from darkness to light, from enslavement to redemption."

A flash of that light and redemption was seen Saturday when four Israeli hostages were rescued in a special Israeli army operation in central Gaza, among them Noa Argamani, 25, who became a symbol of those kidnapped into Gaza by Hamas after a video of her being carried off into captivity by motorcycle, surrounded on either side by Hamas terrorists, as she screamed out in despair went viral.

The rescue was welcome news, but the most realistic best hope to get the others home is a negotiated deal.

It shouldn't be a surprise that ultra-Orthodox political parties Shas and United Torah Judaism have endorsed a plan that U.S. President Joe Biden announced last week was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's for a truce   a phased plan to secure Hamas' release of hostages and end the war in Gaza.

The ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community both in the Diaspora and in Israel has held the hostages center of mind for one simple reason: our belief in the sanctity of life.

This past Hanukkah, candles representing each of the Hamas hostages at the time were lit in a Jerusalem yeshiva's display of anguish over and hope for, one for each of the hostages abducted by Hamas. Another Haredi yeshiva set seats for the hostages at a large empty table. Hundreds of its students read Psalms for their release.

The names of the hostages have been projected on the main street in Bnei Brak, a largely ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv, along with a plea for prayers that they be released. Each week, the Haredi publication Hamodia dedicates a page with the names of the hostages.

Notices are hung in the ultra-orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Yiddish requesting people recite psalms and prayers for the return of the hostages.

Pamphlets with the pictures and names of the hostages have been circulated in the Haredi community, where everyone is given the opportunity to "adopt" a hostage and recite psalms for them until they return. The effort was duplicated in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Borough Park in neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The fact that few, if any, of the hostages have been identified as belonging to religious communities is a non-factor when it comes to feeling anguish and imploring the Creator to effect their release. Pidyon shvuyim, redemption of captives, is a major Jewish religious obligation. The legendary 12th century Jewish thinker Rambam wrote that "The redeeming of captives takes precedence over supporting the poor or clothing them. There is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives."

Haredi support of the hostage release plan stands in stark contrast to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's insistence that they will not back the current proposal, and have threatened to resign from the government if Netanyahu accepts the deal. A previous hostage deal was supported by the ultra-Orthodox parties and all other parties in the government with the exception of Ben-Gvir's party.

If there was a realistic way to rescue all the remaining hostages without loss of life   an Israeli commando perished in the recent mission as did Palestinian civilians   that would be ideal. Unfortunately, the pending deal is likely the best way forward at present.

But Ben-Gvir called the plan "a flawed deal, which is a victory for terror and a security threat to the State of Israel. Agreement to such a deal is not total victory   but total defeat." He and Smotrich see military gain and the crushing of Hamas, realistic or not, as the prime goal, above all else.

Most Americans don't fully understand how different the Israeli ultra-Orthodox world is from the national religious one. Israelis are considerably more familiar with that distinction.

Because, just as the Haredi parties' attitude toward military service for those engaged in full-time Torah studies   the source of so much consternation in Israeli society   radically diverges from that of the nationalist religious parties, so do the two camps' respective attitudes toward military or political objectives. While Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Ben-Gvir's s Otzma Yehudit parties see things through what is essentially a patriotic lens, albeit one informed by religious beliefs; UTJ and Shas' view is exclusively Judaism-centric in nature.

And, while both camps regard Eretz Yisrael ("The Land of Israel") as holy and as the birthright of Klal Yisrael, a term which means for the good of the Jewish world community, Haredi leaders see the preservation of Jewish lives as a higher priority than Jewish presence on every part of the Holy Land. That is why Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach, who founded Degel Hatorah, one of the two parties that comprise the United Torah Judaism joint ticket, famously endorsed territorial concessions if they could save Jewish lives.

Whether such concessions in reality today can preserve the safety of Jews is an arguable proposition. If there are any true partners for peace among the Palestinian leadership, they have yet to reveal themselves . But concern for Jewish lives nevertheless remains a Haredi fundamental.

To be sure, utterly destroying Hamas, the stated goal of the government which Haredi parties are members of may prove to be elusive. And, in any event, evil is a shape-shifter; hatred of Jews living in Israel among some in Palestinian society seems, unfortunately, to be a perennial weed. This leaves, at least in Haredi eyes, rescuing the hostages not yet killed, as priority number one.

It's worth noting that the proposal outlined by Biden is not perfect but has the potential for achieving that mission.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, offering exquisitely rare praise for Israel's ultra-orthodox population, which currently makes up some 13 percent of Jewish Israelis, welcomed the ultra-Orthodox parties' support for the hostage deal/truce proposal as "displaying national responsibility."

But that is not what it is. What it is, is the embrace of the Jewish religious mandate to prioritize the saving of Jewish lives. And even though we welcome Saturday's rescue, the other 120 hostages who still need to come home, some of them who, tragically, will return in body bags, cannot wait for another daring and dangerous military operation.