An Air Force base in southern Israel, last week. Twenty or so ultra-Orthodox women are wearing T-shirts with a slogan in Hebrew declaring that ‘ultra-Orthodox women are partners’ (the original – ‘Harediot Shutafot’ – rhymes). With Hassidic music and energetic chatter in the background, they pack care parcels for IDF soldiers. “I never thought I would find myself in a place like this – an army base,” says Miri, a 21-year-old newlywed, before quickly adding: “My husband encouraged me to come.” Lieke, a 39-year-old mother-of-seven, overhears and says that her husband wasn’t keen on the idea of volunteering in the army. “Our children and the family can’t find out that I was here,” she says.

The diversity of opinions, stream of Judaism and age among these female volunteers, most of them from Jerusalem or Bnei Brak, is huge – but for most of them, just going there was not easy. The tension between what their communities see as ‘the right thing to do’ and the desire to contribute something to the national war effort is constantly in the atmosphere. “My granddaughter wanted to come, but my daughter told me I was ruining her education,” says Adina, 63, from Bnei Brak.

Female soldiers serving on the base come to take selfies with the ultra-Orthodox women, which they will post on social media. Some of the volunteers are uncomfortable having the occasion documented in this way; others are delighted. Shortly after this, a charged argument breaks out over the issue of ultra-Orthodox recruitment into the IDF. The argument only ends when the women agree to disagree.

No Israeli has been left unaffected by the war in Gaza. The extent of the massacre in the Gaza border communities stunned the ultra-Orthodox public no less than any other citizen of Israel and, as it did for all of us, it engendered a whole range of impulses – from anxiety to solidarity, from a desire to flee to an urge to fight. The missile warning sirens, the nonexistent daily routine and the chaos in Israel’s education system are a huge burden for large families – especially those in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, who live in older buildings, which do not have safe rooms or bomb shelters.

Quite naturally, given the diversity that exists within ultra-Orthodox society (notwithstanding the prevalent view among secular Israelis that it is homogenous), responses to the war have been varied. Some identify with the state, and this manifests itself in initiatives like ultra-Orthodox women volunteers – something that is no less than a sea change in ultra-Orthodox society; others try to ignore it, in the hope that things will go back to how they were on October 6. Others still adopt revert to an extreme and accusatory isolationism which, it seems, is an expression of concern over the profound processes in ultra-Orthodox society once it has been exposed to the war.

The Isolationists | Hamas’ Victims are to Blame for the Massacre

The reactions from the most extreme and anti-Zionist communities – from the Edah HaChareidis, Neturei Karta and the Sikrikim to students at the Chazon Ish Kollel in Bnei Brak – were most predictable and focused on efforts to entrench isolationism and to explain why the massacre happened: The party at Re’im, the immodest clothing of the women and so on. The anger is understandable, but the disdain testifies to a certain lack of understanding: what starts with the extremists often seeps through to the rest of society.

These extremists are mainly outraged by the various volunteer initiatives that have sprung up in ultra-Orthodox communities. There was, for example, one initiative of combining the fringes of the Jewish prayer shawl with a military-style khaki T-shirt. This is not a new idea and comes from the religious Zionist camp, where there is a belief that doing so protects the wearer. Past efforts to bring the ultra-Orthodox community into the fold failed, but the war has changed the picture: entire yeshivas are now dedicating time to the project and are attaching fringes and sending the garments to soldiers.

“The ultra-Orthodox public is currently facing a variety of activities, the aim of which is to create ideological dull ambiguity by taking advantage of the terrible situation with the war,” according to an editorial in ultra-Orthodox newspaper Hapeles. “There has been considerable criticism among the ultra-Orthodox population over this artificial propaganda initiative, the only goal of which is to create an atmosphere of blatant obsequiousness toward the secular population and admiration of military figures. …Initiatives of this kind are part of the propaganda machine, which is seeking to work intensively, by taking advantage of the dire and worrying war, in order to prepare the ground yet again for another attempt by the regime to change the character and essence of the ultra-Orthodox population.”

The phrasing used by the newspaper, which is seen by the ultra-Orthodox public as straddling the line between conservative and extreme, is still mild compared to the broadside posters and flyers that are distributed within these extremist communities. One such flier, published by the Jewish Guardians, which is associated with Neturei Karta, explains what happened in those Gaza border communities: “In the middle of Shabbat [during the Jewish holiday of] Shemini Atzeret, a group of Shabbat violators gathered in public to anger the Lord, to commit vile acts and to declare that there are no rules, no divinity behind creation and that everything came from nature. And then, in the middle of this sacrilegious and defiant event, thousands of Arabs charged at them from Gaza, killing hundreds of them and persecuting them harshly. [They came] to show that there is a divinity behind creation, there are laws and there is a judge.” The Re’im party was not the only cause of the Hamas massacre, according to these extremists. They also said that the failure to allow gender-segregated prayer during Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv also contributed.

Such sentiments quickly filter through to wider circles and, as is customary in the ultra-Orthodox world, they take on additional layers along the way – many of them fueled by wild imaginations. One member of an extremist ultra-Orthodox group from Beit Shemesh, for example, told Shomrim that the reason for the massacre was that “they held a party on Simchat Torah, on Shabbat and there was a giant statue that they danced around.”

Hapeles and other similar publications have spent the last three weeks reminding their readers that the sole raison d’être of the Jewish people is to study the Torah. But despite the principle that Torah study is supposed to ‘protect and rescue,’ there have been no complaints made against studying the Torah. In times of disaster, however, there is a well-honored tradition to blame immodest dress by women. This is no exception. Fliers in the name of various rabbis have been distributed in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, some of them carrying historical quotes from key figures in mainstream ultra-Orthodox groups. One such quote, from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, said that “daughters of Israel must strengthen their religious ardor especially in challenging times and must extend their skirts down to their ankles.”

In this case, the seepage of extremists into the center was rapid. Several places in Israel held ceremonies where people destroyed clothes that were considered immodest. In a sign of the times, TikTok was inundated with videos of ultra-Orthodox women and girls ripping up immodest clothes, in the belief that this would help the IDF with the war. There followed a new “challenge” for ultra-Orthodox women – one they viewed as equally important in terms of preserving their modesty: deleting photographs of women from profile pictures on social media.

Before October 7, the ultra-Orthodox politicians were generous in the interviews they gave the media, in part because of the now-postponed municipal elections, but they have been struck silent now

The Mainstream | Between ‘Iron Sisters’ and the Vanished Politicians

The vast majority of ultra-Orthodox Israelis belong to the mainstream, which naturally contains a wide range of communities, opinions and responses to the war. But if there is one clear characteristic that they all share over the past three weeks, it is the way the leaders of the United Torah Judaism party have avoided the media – both national and ultra-Orthodox. Most of the elected representatives of Shas are also missing in action, but some proved to be the exception: the interior and health ministers gave interviews and issued statements relating to their respective ministries, as did party chairman Aryeh Dery.

The disappearance of the political leadership of the ultra-Orthodox is not something that should be glossed over. Over the past three weeks, there have been calls in the media and the Knesset for the money earmarked by the coalition for the ultra-Orthodox parties to be used instead for the war effort and for rebuilding the Gaza border communities and there have been many questions asked about the ultra-Orthodox recruitment law. Before October 7, the ultra-Orthodox politicians were generous in the interviews they gave the media, in part because of the now-postponed municipal elections, but they have been struck silent now. The ultra-Orthodox media may not have covered the issue, but among the general ultra-Orthodox population, the issue is a matter for criticism and a healthy dose of black humor. “If I didn’t know any better,” says Hannah, a mother-of-five from Elad, “I would think that they are being held hostage in Gaza.”

Shomrim reached out to four UTJ lawmakers and to one ultra-Orthodox mayor who is known to enjoy giving interviews, asking them to be interviewed about the war. All five declined. It is entirely possible that their deafening silence is a reflection of the confusion and perplexity that they are feeling with regard to their role during the war, rather than any fear over tough questions. In other words: Should they express solidarity with and contribute to the war effort (by foregoing the promised coalition funding, for example) or should they refuse to commit and see how things develop?

In this case, and not for the first time, politicians are not representative of the majority, which responded with an outburst of solidarity with the IDF and with the many casualties from the Gaza border communities, which has manifested itself in many local initiatives. For example, girls attending seminary are praying daily in the name of soldiers and hostages, yeshiva students are dedicating their studies to the soldiers and the mainstream ultra-Orthodox media publishes details about mass prayer meetings for the success of the war effort.

Another initiative that testifies to the extent to which ultra-Orthodox people are rallying round is Iron Sisters, which was set up by two ultra-Orthodox women from Jerusalem – Hannah Eram and Brachi Segev. The two women set up a pyramid of 130 coordinators, each of whom is responsible for between 10 and 20 volunteers, for a total of 1,500. Iron Sisters helps the families of people injured, killed or kidnapped, as well as reserve soldiers and evacuees, with all of their everyday needs, such as laundry, cooking, childcare, housework – and company. So far, they have helped more than 1,000 families.

Eram, 44, is married with five children. She says that she gets dozens of calls a day from ultra-Orthodox women who want to contribute. She knows that there is no way of turning back the tide and her goal is for ongoing relations. “When we meet one on one, we have more in common than what makes us different. We will not empower those that want to divide us.”

Iron Sisters is just one organization of many and it is important to mention those among them that were given official backing by the leadership of the community rabbinate. Several Hasidic sects, for example, joined forces in a project sending food packages to IDF bases and families evacuated from the war zone. The Yakir Jerusalem and Be’er Hatalmud yeshivas, which are affiliated to Shas, held blood drives. The Belz Hasidic sect held a prayer rally for success in the war, the wellbeing of soldiers and the return of the hostages, while the Grand Rabbi of Vizhnitz also recited a special prayer for the soldiers, the wounded and the hostages. This, as stated, is a very partial list.

Solidarity is clearly evident in the ultra-Orthodox mainstream, but as expected, it is not the only response – and there are some rabbis who have expressed their opposition to this trend. Rabbi Yinon Vaknin, a community rabbi in Bnei Brak, for example, has come out against the food parcel initiative. He cites the 16^th Code of Jewish Law, which states that it is forbidden to give food to someone you know will not recite the appropriate benediction before consuming it.

The issue of ultra-Orthodox recruitment to the IDF was also raised, but on the margin of the discussion. Hapargod, which reached thousands of readers via cellphone apps, reported the following about a senior rabbi at the Hebron Yeshiva and a member of the Council of Yeshiva: “Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Farbstein spoke on Shabbat and said that, in principle, this is a just war, so we should have recruited; however, we do not have the training for it, so the most valuable contribution we can make is to study Torah.”

Rabbi David Cohen, another top rabbi from the Hebron yeshiva and member of the Council of Torah Sages, was clearly not happy with these comments. “Anyone who says things like this,” he was quoted by Hapargod as saying, “does not know what Torah is, who the Jewish people are and who yeshiva students are. They also do not know that, as they say in Aramaic – God, Israel and Torah are one and the same.” According to Hapargod, “the greatest fear among the heads of the yeshivas is that overseas donors will send their money to causes that support the IDF and the State of Israel, at the expense of the yeshivas.”

The first round of ultra-Orthodox war recruits was drafted last week and more will follow soon. Although they will only serve for a matter of weeks, the willingness to join the IDF – and perhaps even more importantly, to publicly state so – is a huge drama in ultra-Orthodox society

The Modernists | Any Inhibitions about Identifying with the State are Gone

While the war has led to increased solidarity among the ultra-Orthodox mainstream, for the so-called modern ultra-Orthodox – also known as the state ultra-Orthodox – it has removed the few remaining inhibitions there were over displaying their connection to the state. The characteristics of this group are broad and varied. They include a high proportion of men over the age of 26 (the age after which Israeli men are exempt from military service) in the workforce, a positive attitude toward the use of technology, integration in the economy and providing their children with an education that includes the core curriculum and science.

The initiatives coming from the modern ultra-Orthodox are too numerous to list. Unlike those from the ultra-Orthodox mainstream, a large proportion of the modern ultra-Orthodox initiates have nothing to do with religion – prayers or religious garments, for example. Rather, they address more general needs, such as organization transportation, delivering food, collecting money, helping with families and so on. Several such ad hoc organizations have sprung up and are cooperating with secular organizations like Brothers in Arms and One Heart.

One such example is True Kindness, which was set up by ultra-Orthodox women on the second day of the war to ensure that funerals – including military funerals – were well attended and that families were not left to mourn alone. In some cases, they brought hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men and women to funerals that would otherwise not have had mourners. Another example is the aforementioned Harediot Shutafot, which was set up by Nivcharot – an ultra-Orthodox feminist organization that, in normal times, promotes the representation of ultra-Orthodox women in Israeli politics – and whose members visited an Air Force base in southern Israel.

“In the seminaries, we were taught that serving in the army or national service is beyond the pale. That approach is relevant to different times,” says Esti Shoshan, founder and CEO of Nivcharot. “The yeshiva students are strengthening our security by studying Torah. This is an argument that you can possibly argue about, but it has an alternative value. What is our argument, ultra-Orthodox women?”

Another subject which has inevitably been affected by the war is ultra-Orthodox recruitment into the IDF. During the first days of the war, social media platforms were inundated with ultra-Orthodox men – young and old – asking to join up. Rabbis and progressive ultra-Orthodox thinkers expressed their support and the IDF agreed. The IDF Spokesperson said that the army had received no fewer than 2,000 requests – many more than are drafted annually – and that it would do its best to accept these offers.

The first round of ultra-Orthodox war recruits was drafted last week and more will follow soon. Although they will only serve for a matter of weeks, during which time they will get very basic military training in order to qualify for the reserves, the willingness to join the IDF – and perhaps even more importantly, to publicly state so – is a huge drama in ultra-Orthodox society.

Rabbi Bezalel Cohen is a Jewish scholar and has been an activist for ultra-Orthodox integration in Israel for more than 20 years. He explains that the difference in the ultra-Orthodox response to this war is the scale. “This is not like Operation Guardian of the Walls, because it is of unprecedented scale. We have never seen catastrophes like this. Every Israeli citizen feels that they have to do something. For a large part of our society, that something is reserve duty. Others looked for ways to volunteer.”

Cohen argues that modern ultra-Orthodox have been looking for their path to Israeliness for more than two decades. “This is a group that is in a state of serious conflict because a significant part of the ultra-Orthodoxy that we know is separatism – which essentially means not being Israeli. The modern ultra-Orthodox want, on the one hand, to be ultra-Orthodox, but they also want to be Israeli, which means, to a certain degree, integrating. There is that constant tension between how to integrate and how to remain separate – and it’s will them all the time. I think that, at the moment, the powerful and immediate desire to be Israeli, to be part of it, is massive. That’s why we’ve seen so many volunteers.”

What do you think about ultra-Orthodox recruitment to the IDF? Do the figures suggest there’s been a change?

“I am not very keen on this willingness to join up. I am not certain that it is very significant. The big question will be whether we will see a change in 18-year-olds joining the regular army. In my opinion, the fact that a few thousand have said that they are willing to join up now is not a suggestion of anything more significant. It is mainly a misunderstanding over what the state is and what recruitment is – because this is actually volunteering. Some people volunteer to work with Magen David Adom, the rescue services, Yad Sarah, ZAKA – and now there’s the army, too. So, I think that the joy is premature, but, at the current moment, we are certainly seeing that there is a massive desire to be part of it.”