Israel’s ultra-Orthodox (Haredim) claim to be the real upholders and maintainers of “true Torah Judaism.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Jewish Law (halakha) sets one value above all the rest (except in very narrow circumstances), and the Haredim have been flouting it (transgressing would be a better word) consistently.

Pikuach nefesh – saving one’s life – is that supreme value. The Torah states: “You shall keep My laws… which a man shall do and live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). The Talmud (Tractate Yoma 85b) interprets this to mean that the commandments are intended to facilitate life – not actively cause, or even passively allow, death. The latter is based on the verse in Leviticus 19:16: “Neither shall you stand by the blood of your neighbor,” understood as prohibiting inaction when something endangers life. Moreover, the rabbis (most prominently, Rabbi Akiva) issued a halakhic directive that when life is in danger, almost all Torah laws (especially Shabbat: Pikuach nefesh docheh et ha-shabbat) are suspended in order to protect or save human life.

Let’s see how the Haredim in Israel live up to this paramount Jewish directive.

1) During Israel’s (possibly ongoing) war with Iran and Hezbollah, with missile barrages raining down on Israel daily, Israel’s Home Front Command in charge of civilian safety continually issued explicit instructions how to immediately approach and then enter protected spaces, whether safe rooms in........

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