The extremist elements in Israel's ultra-Orthodox (haredi) sector that are violently opposed to haredi men enlisting in the IDF are equally opposed to haredim volunteering for national service, director of the Authority for National-Civic Service Sar Shalom Jerbi warns. In letter to Government Secretary Tzachi Braverman, Jerbi warned that his directorate was far from meeting the goals for haredi recruitment stated in law. The letter is part of a biannual update the directorate of the Authority for National-Civic Service is obligated to submit to his superiors. The new recruit head count is conducted over the course of one year, from the beginning of July to the end of June. The goal set for the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 was 1,800 new volunteers for national service, but only 731 signed on. In the same period for the years 2016-2017, which has yet to end, the goal was even more ambitious -- 2,000 new haredi national service recruits. However, as of mid-May, with only six weeks to go, only 457 haredim have signed up. Jerbi's letter outlines the reasons the national service authority has not met its stated goals for haredi recruitment, saying, "There are still significant difficulties. We cannot launch a broad-scale [recruitment] campaign for fear of opposition from the extremists, which causes a lack of awareness in the haredi community, both about the option of [volunteering for] national service and about the advantages and benefits it offers. "In addition, some of the haredi leadership is not thrilled about the idea of national service, and at the most gives tacit consent," Jerbi wrote. Jerbi observed that "haredim who volunteer for national service are poorly perceived by a considerable part of haredi society" and that "[a few] extremists in the haredi society attack national service and those who perform it and threaten them that they'll have difficulty finding a husband or wife, will be cast out of the community, and their children will be expelled from haredi schools." "A few days ago, demonstrations were held in front of the home of one of the national service coordinators for Ashdod, and signs bearing his first and last name were hung up in the area. As a result, he is considering resigning from the Authority for National-Civic Service. Jerbi also said that the stipend for people who volunteer for national service was low and did "not tempt" haredim to sign up. In a related development, at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the latest incident of anti-military incitement by haredi extremists, in which effigies of IDF soldiers were burned in Jerusalem on Saturday night. "Yesterday, on Saturday evening, a despicable incident occurred in Jerusalem. An extremist branch, possibly marginal, of haredi society identified with the hard-liner Neturei Karta sect burned effigies of IDF soldiers, along with IDF uniforms and Israeli flags, in an attempt to attack haredi soldiers," Netanyahu said. "This act is loathsome. IDF soldiers protect us all, including the haredim, including these people. I expect, request, and demand that every public leader condemn this contemptible act, and I also ask that the police find the perpetrators," the prime minister said.
