Poll: Nearly half of Israelis favor tougher sanctions, pressure for Haredi conscription

A significant portion of Israelis, nearly half according to a recent poll, believe that more pressure should be applied to enlist young ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, men into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The July survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) found that 46% of Israelis and 50% of Jews support this stance.

However, public opinion on the matter is sharply divided along political lines. While 31% of respondents support conscription only with the agreement of Haredi leadership, and 11% believe such efforts are futile, the broader political divide is stark. Right-wing respondents predominantly favor a Haredi-approved compromise, with 59% supporting this approach. In contrast, the center and left-wing segments of the population demand sanctions, with 73% and 79% respectively advocating for them. Supporters of the Likud party also lean towards compromise at 75%, while Yisrael Beitenu strongly favors sanctions at 84%.

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It turns out that the main consideration by which Israelis choose their position even on this existential issue is political interest. The right prefers a continued alliance with the Haredi, and the center and left, which are not politically supported by the Haredi, believe that sanctions are necessary.

Within the Haredi community itself, there is some openness to conscription, with 45% agreeing it could be possible if their leadership consented. However, 15% of Haredi respondents support sanctions. The poll also explored public perception of Haredi anti-draft protests, drawing comparisons to the earlier anti-judicial reform demonstrations.

Approximately one-third of all respondents felt that if anti-judicial reform protests were allowed to block public roads, the Haredi anti-draft protests should be permitted as well. Conversely, 39% of respondents, including a majority of secular individuals (53%), deemed the Haredi protests "unjustified" and believed they must be stopped. Professor Yedidia Stern, president of the JPPI, noted that political interest appears to be the primary driver of these differing positions, suggesting that a substantive solution remains elusive.

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When the decisive factor is purely political, and not substantive, the solution seems further away than ever.