Earlier this year, the Zionist entity’s highest court ended the exemption from military service offered to ultra-orthodox, or Haredi, citizens of “Israel.” With a few long-standing exceptions, military service has been compulsory for non-Arab citizens of “Israel” since the imperialist outpost’s founding in 1948.
“Israeli” law does not expressly prohibit Arab people from serving in the Zionist military. However, the “Israeli” occupation force, commonly referred to as the IDF, has maintained a ban on Arab military service within its regulation. As second-class citizens, the ability to join the military is just one of many restrictions that the Arab community within the 1948 borders faces.
Nonetheless, compulsory military service is a subject of great pride for Zionist Jewish citizens. Many wear it as a badge of honor. For some, their IDF service is their identity.
The emphasis on Jewish military service is simply an extension of Zionism’s broader ideology and purpose. It would be impossible for the Zionist entity to protect U.S. imperialist interests in the region without a strong and ideologically fascist military.
As such, the IDF has historically allowed very few populations within the 1948 borders to be exempt from military service. Until recently, the most significant of these narrow exemptions was the one that applied to Haredi Jewish men. Historically, Haredi men could avoid military service entirely if they remained enrolled in yeshiva, a traditional Jewish educational institution.
This is no longer the case. Under the high court’s decision, nearly 63,000 eligible Haredi Jewish men will have to report for military service as the Zionist genocidal war in Gaza rages. The Zionist high court did not attempt to conceal its motives, stating in its decision:
“In these days, in the midst of a severe war, the burden of inequality is more acute than ever — and requires the promotion of a sustainable solution to this issue.”
The message is clear. The Zionist entity is facing an unprecedented protracted struggle in Gaza, a growing conflict with Hezbollah, and a potential full-scale war with Iran. Frankly, the morality of whether Haredi Jews should have to serve is irrelevant and should not be a concern for socialists and anti-imperialists.
The entire IDF is an illegitimate occupying force. The individuals allowed to participate in that occupying force are really of no consequence to the millions of Palestinians fighting for their mere existence.
However, this development does have broader political implications worth analyzing. First, the end of the Haredi exemption could mark the end of Netanyahu’s political alliance with the religious Zionist right-wing, upon which his most recent rise to power was entirely dependent. With Netanyahu’s military now drafting Haredi men into service, this coalition could fracture, further destabilizing internal Zionist politics and presenting an opportunity for the Axis of Resistance to continue to strike against the imperialist outpost.
Second, the rationale behind the move clearly demonstrates that resistance against occupation is never futile. No matter the odds against them when facing a well-funded and well-equipped Zionist military, the Palestinian people, supported by the Iraqi Islamic resistance, Yemen, and Hezbollah, have persevered in their militant resistance against the apartheid regime. This resistance is thinning the Zionist will and striking blows against “Israel’s” strategic ability to continue to fight wars on multiple fronts of resistance.
The U.S. wants us to believe that its empire, including its Zionist arm, is inevitable and impervious. Luckily, the Palestinian people and the broader Axis of Resistance have shown us that this is not the case. If it weren’t, the Zionist military wouldn’t have broken with 76 years of tradition to draft ultra-orthodox Jews into the IDF terror force.
When people are occupied, resistance is always justified.
Lev Koufax is an anti-Zionist Jewish activist.
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