David Hagar has not been interviewed for 16 years. The businessman and philanthropist, who is considered one of the most significant pushers for haredi recruitment to the IDF, rarely gets exposed. "I like to work under the radar, quietly, because the blessing is only in the hidden thing, but sometimes there is no choice," he explains in a conversation at his home on the 22nd floor of the Leonardo Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem.
Even the hundreds of volunteers the president received a few weeks ago tried to shake off, explaining that although it was a great honor he preferred to do his thing behind the scenes. Now, he says, he felt compelled to be interviewed in order to combat the danger at hand: "I feel that we are before the destruction of the Temple. I see before my eyes a deep rift in the people of Israel and no one listens to the other side, even though there are right and wrong things on each side. I also have criticism of the ultra-Orthodox, but I see amazing things in this society.
"Look at Jonathan Hirsch, who was verbally assaulted by a woman just because of his kippah and wigs. This man joined the army because of me. I ate with his family on Saturday, an amazing experience to which I bring senior military officers today, and his mother told me that she has a talented child who wants to enlist, but she is afraid that it will make a mess and that he will not have a match. I asked her if she was worried that he would be less religious because of the army, and she said no. I told her, 'Let the Almighty decide.' Hirsch today is a captain in the reserves and a lawyer in the State Attorney's Office. One day he will be the state attorney. And we have a lot of Jonathan-style stories."
Hagar (69) was born in Tel Aviv to a family that immigrated from Belgium. His father was the owner of the legendary Popsicle company, which closed decades ago but whose name remains common to millions of Israelis. As a teenager, he studied at two flagship institutions of the ultra-Orthodox world – the New Yishuv Yeshiva – and later at the first Seder Yeshiva in Israel, Kerem Yavneh. He served in the Nahal Brigade as a combat medic and during his studies after the army met Judy, his wife of 46 years. The two moved to Los Angeles, where their three children were born, and he embarked on a highly successful career in real estate.
Today, Hagar divides his time between Los Angeles and Jerusalem, where he travels for four months a year for philanthropic and public activities. "I have a house five times bigger there, but I feel more at home here," he says as we look out over the Old City, "Giving to the community has become more than 50 percent of my time (alongside business and family), and thankfully my partners are also following this path. One of them, Adam Milstein, is one of the main people waging the war on BDS and anti-Semitism."
Forced conscription - self-goal
One of the main issues that Hagar has been leading for many years is the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the IDF, as a member of the board of directors of Netzah Yehuda and one of its main donors. In addition to the battalion itself, the association is also a partner in the establishment of "Arrow Paratroopers" and accompanies "Tomer Givati" and the Air Force. Quite a bit of his time in Israel is devoted to helping and pushing the issue of recruitment, especially recently. "Among the ultra-Orthodox, you have to understand a simple thing – there is no such thing as coercion. If you force it, it won't work, and vice versa," he says. As proof of this, he points to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion and says that the first recruitment cycle consisted of barely 30 fighters, and today it is a large, active and sought-after battalion.
Haredi recruitment figures in recent years have remained unchanged. The ultra-Orthodox do not flock to the army.
"That's true. In 2014, a senior politician suggested to me that if they did not meet the quotas, which was acceptable to everyone, yeshiva boys would go to jail. I went to his house in Tel Aviv and begged. I told him, 'You know that if you put 200 Haredim in jail there will be a mess, within a minute there will be half a million people in front of the Knesset.' He didn't listen to me, and that led to greater resistance to the army. The Jerusalem faction grew stronger and ignited the public, and everything crashed. Today, an ultra-Orthodox soldier is afraid to enter Bnei Brak in uniform. The number of soldiers in Netzach Yehuda was supposed to double since 2014, but that didn't happen. By coercion, you can't do anything."
You ignore the fact that there were quite a few clouds surrounding the ultra-Orthodox battalion. The incident of the shackling and death of an elderly Palestinian man, alongside the abuse of Palestinians by combatants after an attack. This battalion had a bad reputation.
"Which battalion was Elor Azaria in? No one knows. I asked an audience of 300 people, all of whom knew his story, as well as some IDF generals, but no one knew he was in the Shimshon Battalion. But every time the Netzach Yehuda Battalion is involved in something, the journalists and the public refer to the fact that they are ultra-Orthodox. The answer is that statistically not only is the battalion not involved in more problematic incidents, but quite the opposite. Unlike any other battalion, which serves four months in Judea and Samaria and then continues to training and sectors such as the Golan Heights or Gaza, Netzach Yehuda is in Judea and Samaria all year round, which leads to very large burnout."
Despite all this, it cannot be said that the ultra-Orthodox support the draft. A few years ago, it was revealed that the IDF had inflated the numbers of recruits in order to meet the quotas, and that in practice people who were not religious at all, let alone ultra-Orthodox, were counted as such.
"Today, the possibility of serving in the IDF is also on the table in the ultra-Orthodox world. Take, for example, a guy named Abby. He was in a yeshiva and went to England for three months, even though he received permission from the army, as part of his 'Torah Art', to be there for only a month. When he returned, he was drafted, and planned to receive a weapon and start shooting in the air to finish his service on a mental condition. At the end of the first journey, when they returned to base, his friend, wearing a knitted kippah, asked him to stay awake for another 20 minutes and pray 'Vatikin'. It was the first time he had prayed like this, and it made a huge impression on him, but he was still debating whether to stay. Rabbi Shtinman, with whom he consulted, told him that even being on the street is a mental inspection and therefore he should remain in the army."
In fact, Hagar confirms for the first time that Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shtinman, the greatest of the ultra-Orthodox generation, who passed away in 2017, was one of the rabbis who supported conscription into the IDF, something for which he was heavily criticized in his lifetime. "During the first five years of the Netzach Yehuda Battalion, the ultra-Orthodox street walked on us like a trash. Rabbi Shtinman was one of our supporters, of course modestly. Today everyone understands that enlisting in the IDF is one of the best options for a guy who cannot sit and study.
"My dream is to become an ultra-Orthodox champion, and with God's help I will see it," he says. At the same time, Hagar is working to establish the first ultra-Orthodox "soldier's house," near the government compound, where there will also be a beit midrash where soldiers can study on vacation. "We have about 180 lone soldiers, either because of a break with their parents or because they don't want to harm the possibility of a match for their siblings."
These days, the draft law is once again on the public agenda, with the know-how attempt to reach agreements. The Finance Ministry is pressing to lower the age of exemption for Haredim to 21 in order to allow them to enter the labor market, a demand that is widely opposed by the public. Hagar also strongly opposes the initiative, saying that not only is it unnecessary, it will create damage from the economic and security aspects, as well as to equality between the various populations in Israel.
"Why make a law that is not good for anyone? The age of exemption should be 23, because it is useless earlier. The problem is that the economists at the Ministry of Finance are not Haredi, and therefore do not understand that there is no way that a Haredi will go to work before getting married, which happens on average at the age of 22. Also, when you lower the draft age to 21, why should a Haredi enlist in combat? Even so, he is released. From the age of 18 to 23 is a lot for a person who cannot sit and study. A move like the Ministry of Finance wants to promote will harm the economy, recruitment, everyone. If it contributed to the country and we lost a few hundred soldiers, I would be silent, but if it hurts the economy, recruitment and creates total inequality, what have we gained?"
Torah study - martyrdom
According to him, a model should be created in which the duration of service of soldiers who are not critical to the system will be shortened to two years, while at the same time the salaries of combatants and intelligence personnel will increase significantly. Increased supervision of yeshivas will lead to only the people who actually study remaining, and the fact that the exemption age will be 23 will lead young Haredim who do not study into the ranks of the army.
"I talk to politicians and public figures. One of the senior officials I spoke to didn't believe me that because of matchmaking problems, young Haredim wouldn't go out to work at the age of 21. I called a random ultra-Orthodox woman and asked her if the young men would go to work if they were released at the age of 21. She replied that I had made her laugh and that it wouldn't happen."
You'll be told that's not fair either. That there should be equality of burden and that everyone should go to the army instead of studying in a yeshiva.
"People don't understand what a sacrifice it is to sit and learn. In my view, the fact that ultra-Orthodox public figures and politicians don't devote effort to explaining what you're giving up in order to learn is an omission. There was still no one in the history of the State of Israel who wanted to evade and therefore went to study Torah. It's not an option, it's too difficult. People literally give their lives for Torah study, and just as there are outstanding athletes, so should there be Torah scholars. My aspiration is that anyone who doesn't study will enlist in ultra-Orthodox military frameworks, it will only do him good.
"My dream is to have two more ultra-Orthodox battalions in the format of the Netzach Yehuda Battalion in the army. The army wants more ultra-Orthodox, but it can't recruit more than two battalions. The IDF won't shout it in the headlines, but ask any former head of the ACA. The army will collapse."
And how do you get the ultra-Orthodox to come?
"We need to encourage recruitment in the ultra-Orthodox community through various means, and also increase supervision of the institutions. Whoever is on the streets needs to enlist. Have you ever seen people rush to pay taxes? There is a state, there are laws, there are needs, and that's it."
Two additional ultra-Orthodox battalions, with strictly kosher food and no women – it is not certain that the secular public will accept this.
"True, it is difficult for the army to provide the conditions of the ultra-Orthodox. Forming a battalion without women is very complex, partly because of the courses to which fighters are sent such as medics, snipers or officers. But at the same time, it should be understood to everyone that we do not want to change the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle. Suppose they want to establish an Arab unit. You can't tell them not to pray five times a day, right? We need to know how to integrate the lifestyle of the various populations within the units."
Incitement - the fault of both sides
Alongside the activities related to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, Hagar works in various initiatives to encourage the study of mathematics and English in the ultra-Orthodox sector, out of the understanding that this is the future of the State of Israel. "25 years ago, I came to the conclusion that integrating Haredim into the army and economy is necessary, and as long as that doesn't happen, it poses a risk to the state within 50 years. Unfortunately, they didn't listen to me.
"The ultra-Orthodox army is black gold, like oil. Until a decade ago, the Israeli high-tech industry grew amazingly thanks to immigration from Russia, but it's over. Now it's the turn of the ultra-Orthodox public. Every second child has ADHD because of screens, where do you see children concentrating on only one thing from morning to night? They lack English and math."
Haredi Knesset members are raising the allowances of the elderly, this is not the way to encourage people to reach high-tech, on the contrary.
"I agree with you. It's sad. We were close to having Belz Hasidism include the core curriculum in its institutions, and then they pressured the Rebbe to give it up. Haredi politicians are cut off from the field and hurt the chances of people in Haredi society. All politicians cause damage. I am shocked by the way they speak in the Knesset, how can children be raised in this style of speech? Terrible phrases. You are the elected representatives of the people. I would unplug the microphones and let everyone speak in order. This scourge also includes ultra-Orthodox Knesset members. They need to be role models."
"This is also true of harsh statements against the ultra-Orthodox. There is incitement and it penetrates the discourse. Politicians need to outdo themselves and understand that this is the time for correction. They say it takes two to tango. It is clear that both sides are to blame, and we need a responsible adult to step up and solve this crisis. The Passover Haggadah says, 'Not one alone stood upon us to destroy us.' The fact that there is no unity is about to destroy us, and we must stop it immediately. We don't have to agree, but we have to be together, despite our differences."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us