Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel and be immersed in a truly unique society with a set of traditions (and circumstances) that have kept communitarianism stronger than in the rest of the Western world.
First, Israel’s mandated military service brings people from different walks of life together and keeps loyalty to country above domestic political quibbles. While Israeli politics have been unusually divisive in recent years, and especially since the government pushed sweeping judicial reforms last year, the Israelis I spoke with stressed that all of that is put aside in the military.
It was not obvious that would be the case. Many Israelis on the left were so opposed to the reforms that they vowed to refuse service if the reforms passed, but when push came to shove after the October 7th attacks, the military’s needs were not only met but exceeded, with reservists reporting for duty at a rate of 120%.
The threat Israel faces is existential, and existential threats leave no time for luxury beliefs. As tense as politics are at home, there are far more dangerous enemies abroad. Additionally, this forced interaction with the other side humanizes political opponents, something sorely lacking in the United States. Israeli civil society is much stronger and healthier than American civil society.
This is not to say that the United States should mandate military service, Israel does so out of necessity, not to build community. That said, Americans would do well to get out and interact with those they disagree with, and to find some way to give back to their country. It need not be military service, but being involved in a church community or volunteering could have some of the same effects.
Israel is also a demographic anomaly. Its fertility rate runs far ahead of all other OECD countries (in fact, it is now the only one above replacement level). Additionally, while most Western nations are becoming more secular and liberal, young Israelis are conservative and religious. Not everything in Israel is applicable to America. For example, Israel’s more socialist founding makes it the cool thing to rebel against rather than a trendy ideology, but it is clear that Israel’s more communitarian structure and strong civil society are having a tangible impact. It should not be taken as inevitable that young people will be secular liberals.
Looming in the background (and increasingly, the foreground) of conversations about both the military and demographics are the Haredi, or Ultra-Orthodox. They are a largely isolated part of the population who were a small minority at the time Israel was founded. However, given their sky-high fertility rate, their population is growing rapidly and making it much harder for the state to keep the exceptions it made for them in place.
The key exceptions are twofold. First, Haredi are not required to serve in the military. This both isolates them from the community-building that the rest of the country is doing and limits the capacity of the armed forces.
Second, the state has to subsidize their communities because their men stay home and study the Talmud instead of working. As of 2019, 51% of Haredi lived below the poverty line, and that’s with large state subsidies. This combination of not serving the country and consuming state resources has caused some Israelis to become resentful of the Haredi, and their arguments are not entirely unfounded.
The Haredi are both the most and least communitarian people in Israel. On the one hand, they exist in tight-knit, highly religious communities. On the other, they are almost completely detached from their country. Their way of life should be respected, not insulted, but they also have to begin to integrate. The October 7th attacks and the military’s need for more soldiers appear to be pushing things in that direction, with a bill in the works that will penalize those who do not serve.
Integration will be good for both Israel and the Haredi. It will at least slow the accusations that the Haredi are free-riders and allow them to share their lifestyle with secular Israelis, while grafting them into the country’s institutions.
Being in Israel, especially during this time, was inspirational. The love of country and sense of service was deeper than what I typically see stateside. By investing in civil society, Israel has become a healthy democracy with strong bonds to community, country, and religion. It is an anomaly in our secular, individualistic Western world. We should defend it, try to learn from it, and apply the lessons to our own nation.
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