The Same Coin: The Tal Law and The Olim for Improving Israel Lobby

A few things have been on my mind and my facebook feed lately. The first of them is all the talk about the Tal Law and conscription of Hareidim to the Israel Defense Forces. The second is the buzz around the Olim By Choice, or Olim for Improving Israel Lobby. While these appear to be two separate issues, each with their own arenas of debate, language, figure heads, and hashtags- I cannot help but think they both point to the same problem. The problem being, that the Israeli government has for some time now, been more preoccupied with the past and sometimes the present, and less concerned about the future of the State and the Jewish people. 

For those who need a quick background for issues surrounding the Tal Law and what that is- in a nutshell, when the modern State of Israel was established in 1948, then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion allowed a few hundred Hareidi Jews to be exempt from mandatory army service, which all other Israelis must serve. Some speculate that Ben Gurion felt it was important that, what he perceived to be, the last few Torah scholars should be able to devote time to learning and replenishing the pool if you will, since so many were slaughtered in the fires which consumed Europe during the Holocaust. Others say that Ben Gurion didn't see the harm in allowing such a small number this exemption; these Hareidi Jews and their way of life were pretty much dwindling if not almost dead at that point. Whatever the reason, about 400 Hareidi Jewish males were allowed to skip out on army service and instead, devote their time to studying Torah in Yashivas. Time went on and the Haredim didn't dwindle or fade away. On the contrary their numbers grew and so did the army exemptions. 

Fast forward a few decades and enter the Tal Law. In 2002 Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal enacts a law which essentially allows for full time Yashiva students to delay their army service,  until age 23 when they can decide to do National Service, a shortened Army stint, or continue studying. You can guess which option most of the Hareidim chose. The caveat for this genius law, was that it had to be voted on every five years. So in 2007 it was extended, and in 2012 it was not. ( I will get into why that is another time; Israeli politics, coalitions building, Ultra Orthodox strong arming, and Extreme Left intimidation within the political system are an entire Saga onto themselves). So here we are in 2012, the largest unity government in decades being held together by a thread and the prospect of finally forcing some or at least a great majority of the Hareidim out of the Yashivas (to the Army, to National Service, some combination?) is back in the debate. 

What is important to understand is that army service is not isolated in Israel. There are direct correlations between level of education, attaining gainful employment, and army service in this country. When you skip out on any of those, it affects the entire economy and society (and some would argue the Hareidim are opting out of all three). Today, the Hareidim are the poorest and least educated (according to secular, national standards) among Israelis. To be fair, I should mention that more and more Hareidim are entering the workforce, entering special army units, moving out of the shtetles, and integrating into Israeli society. A marked increase and growing number, which should not be overlooked. However, it is not to the credit of the Government that we see such shifts. We need to be asking ourselves what the Government can do to encourage this trend and how can the Government incentivize such behaviors for a set amount of time in order to jumpstart a major shift, so that we get critical mass involvement and therefore more social acceptance among those in the Hareidi community who currently remain silent or worse, those who encourage such behavior privately but condone it publicly for fear of ostracism in certain communities. 

And this leads to the other side of the coin. The Olim By Choice or Olim for Improving Israel Lobby. I am sure many people are aware but if not I will fill you in briefly. A recent study put out by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (Jerusalem Facts and Trends, 2012) gathered this data:

During the 1990s many new immigrants arrived in Israel, over 80% of whom came from states of the former Soviet Union. The year 2002 marked a turning point during which a significant decline occurred in the number of immigrants to Israel from these countries, measuring 55%. The relative proportion of these immigrants continued to decline in the years that followed, reaching 42% in 2010. Simultaneously, the proportion of immigrants from Western Europe and the United States increased. In 2002, a total of 33,600 new immigrants arrived in Israel. This figure dropped to 21,200 in 2005 and to 16,600 in 2010.

The Israeli Government did its best to absorb new immigrants over the past few decades, whether they be from Iraq, Morocco, Ethiopia or the Soviet Union but one thing is for sure; the same model they used when absorbing those immigrants is not replicable when absorbing immigrants from Western countries, primarily Anglos, or English speakers. You see the Government has yet to understand that the needs of Olim who come to Israel for refuge or asylum are not the same as those who come by choice. It’s quite simple. The framework isn’t in place. The absorption infrastructure is dated and speaks to the needs of yesterday’s Olim with little in place to prepare for and welcome the Olim of tomorrow. The Lobby writes:

Through defending the basic rights of olim-by-choice, this lobby will serve to strengthen Israel's ties to the greater Jewish world; it will give the State the grass roots advocacy and PR needed both throughout Jewish communities and internationally. By proxy, the olim-by-choice lobby will improve the condition of all olim in Israel.

The lobby will serve to raise the success rate of absorption of olim-by-choice, lend to strengthening Israel's economy through retaining this highly professional and educated constituency, and lend to social and political change through its ideological population.

The Olim for Improving Israel lobby is trying to tell the Government that Olim are worth more. Outdated absorption infrastructure, dwindling benefits, and services that are out of touch with the needs of Olim, will if only in the short term help the budget but in the long term, hurt the State. Yesterday’s views do not fit with today’s reality and today’s needs must be flexible enough to accommodate for tomorrow’s opportunity.

Plainly put, the Government is responding to instead of anticipating some of the largest and most important issues the State of Israel is facing today. How we empower an under-appreciated and underdeveloped sector of our society, Hareidim, instead of dragging our feet until the 11^th hour every five years, forcing us to see ‘them’ as a problem instead of an opportunity- and how we plan for and encourage the immigration of more Jews to Israel, how we show support for and appreciation of Jews who leave their countries of birth willingly and come to Israel with skills, education, and passion for Statecraft and the future of the Jewish people-  are two sides of the same coin. Neither issue will be fixed with an extended budget or some other short term Band-Aid. And I am not pointing fingers to the current government and placing blame. Indeed these two problems, symptomatic of a larger ailment, are the reaping of many decades and many administration’ sowing.

Israel deserves better. Jews deserve better. What worked yesterday will not work tomorrow. Yes, demographics have shifted. There are more Hareidim than Ben Gurion planned for but that doesn’t mean we can wait another 65 years to seize this opportunity. And yes, more Jews will continue to come home and return to Israel as the American and European economies contract- we need to be ready for them. We need to entice them to come now. The world is a market place. Mobility is not as daunting as it used to be. Let’s make Israel attractive for Jews now in order to build a better tomorrow. We need an absorption basket that provides the best possible benefits for the future entrepreneurs, CEO’s, Scientists, Teachers, and Members of Knesset that are coming, that are amongst us now!

How we deal with the Hareidim and how we deal with Olim both speak to the success and viability of the ongoing Zionist Experiment. We need Statesmen, not just politicians. We need strategy but we also need vision. Jews from all over and from all ideologies will come to this great State. Zionism is not done! We need a Government that is vibrant, flexible, and proactive. We need citizens who, whether by carrot or stick, build, and are built by this country.

We are here to be a light unto others; let us shine inward and illuminate the possibilities for those amongst us now and let us shine outward, as a guiding beacon for those who have yet to make their way home.