Pulling The Plug On Israel's Freeloaders

Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews seem to have a natural talent for chutzpah. They are upset that the Israeli Parliament is seriously considering legislation that would require their eligibility for military conscription just like the rest of the citizenry but  from which they have  been exempted since Israel became a nation in 1948,.in order to  pursue yeshiva studies  which they also have also used as an excuse to not seek gainful employment.  But the rest of Israeli society is  getting tired of these abuses and of carrying these inter-generational deadbeats who also happen to have  a high birth rate, e.g. the  haredim, who are "ultra-ultra":Orthodox and who  number about 11% of Israel's 8 million total population.

The zealots'  response to this proposed change in the law was a large protest demonstration on March 2 and even threatened to leave the country if their status were changed.  After decades of being coddled, is it any wonder that they think they deserve their special privileges? Yet they have carried this narcissism  to the point that  not only do they not feel obligated to contribute to the welfare of the society in which they live but instead should receive welfare from that society.

This mindset is an example of how religious beliefs can twist minds into a state of total irrationality.  The character of these people is so narcissistic as a result of the long standing collective power of their rabbis and their supporting political parties that they refuse to recognize the "otherness"— the existence—of those outside their own circle of interest. In other words these ultra Orthodox  have no qualms about biting the hands that have been feeding them for all these decades:, namely the rest of  Israelis who perform their civic duty  and at the same time carry the burden of taxes and military service that they choose to shirk. And as though that weren't outrageous enough, many of  the Israeli haredim are anti-Zionist because they believe that only God can decree the establishment of  Israel  as a nation which won't happen until the arrival of the messianic age. Yet you can bet they wouldn't refuse protection from the Zionist government  and soldiers who would put their lives on the line for these extremists if the country were attacked or if their safety were otherwise threatened..

As I mentioned in my previous post "Change The Channel" American Jews who are opposed to these moochers can do their part by not donating to organizations like Chabad and other Hasidic groups. Protestations to the contrary, who knows how much of the charitable funds contributed to  them  likely  wind up channeled  into the hands of the Israeli ultra Orthodox leaders.

In short, Israel's holy rollers have been allowed  to become wholly useless.  Here's hoping their free ride will soon be over.