Do the ultra-orthodox support what is happening in Palestine? Are they pacifists who want the killing to stop?
I'm all for letting people refuse to fight if they are sincerely anti-war. But if they are out there cheering the genocide that's happening, then make them put their necks on the line.
That's not entirely correct. The Ultra-Orthodox spectrum is composed of different factions/sects that hold widely varying beliefs and interpretations of Judaism.
While a majority of Ultra-Orthodox are represented in the current government, there are also some Ultra-Orthodox factions that reject the Israeli state completely. Some won't fight due to their religious studies, some due to their pacifism, some due to their pro-Palestinian sentiment, and other will fight because of their convictions or their desire to settle in the west bank.
The infighting between these groups and their sometimes messianic beliefs and discussions are sometimes very intransparent from the outside. Sometimes internal feuds even erupt in street riots between groups or police.
True they are not a monolith, however it seems that the Likud party’s coalition is being supported by Shad and the United Torah Judaism, both Haredi parties. Because the coalition is only up 4 seats I stated they’re the smaller parties lynchpin in Netanyahu’s government.
The ultra-orthodox have wanted this for a long time and it's one of the reasons Israel's government was trying to curtail the power of the judiciary. You may remember there were protests in Israel over last summer over this.
This isn't about Pacifism, but more about autonomy and seclusion. I don't think they mind exposing their youth to bombs and bullets as much as exposure to cosmopolitan ideals they get from mixing with Israel's more secular youth. It's similar to the impetus for religious parents to do home-schooling in the US.
Not only do they wholeheartedly support it, but they emphatically push it. The irony of pushing for something that you don't have to actually fight for, like they are "better" than other Israelis.
They are also the ones that are rabid supporters of Netanyahu as well, apparently because he tried to give them preferential treatment.
Just being religious doesn't require you to join that crowd with its weird main rabbinate and preferential treatment in laws and state funding.
So it's basically lots of uneducated idle fundamentalist morons. Their worldview is too simple for comic books, and at the same time their level of life is kinda normal.
I don't think such people make useful soldiers, but being that stupid you usually support whatever you hear from your leaders.
A friend of mine very easily repeats stupid shit of that kind and has recently passed an exam to become a rabbi. Still to "maybe Israel shouldn't have invaded Lebanon twice" in a conversation about Hezbollah he answered "ok, maybe they shouldn't, I agree". That's a fucking qualitative difference. If he manages to repatriate and meet those people, I suspect he'll experience "Idiocracy" firsthand.
That said, secular (but nationalist) Israelis have quite a few slurs for them and in general don't like them. So use as a cannon fodder, say, in case of attacking Lebanon, - is kinda possible.
