For decades, the Israeli Right has proudly claimed Ze'ev Jabotinsky as its ideological father. His doctrine of the Iron Wall has been the intellectual foundation of the national camp for more than a century. It was built on one simple truth: Israel can only achieve security when its enemies understand that they cannot defeat it militarily.
That "Iron Wall" was never merely a metaphor, it was a strategic doctrine. It required an army so strong, so resilient and so capable that no enemy would ever believe Israel could be worn down through attrition or intimidation.
This week, the coalition that repeatedly describes itself as "the most right-wing government in Israel's history" took a sledgehammer to that very doctrine.
By passing legislation that effectively prevents the arrest and prosecution of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, while simultaneously advancing a Basic Law declaring Torah study a "foundational value" of the State of Israel, the coalition has done something unprecedented. It has chosen to institutionalize military inequality at precisely the moment Israel requires the largest, strongest and most capable army in its history.
This is not a technical legal debate over exemptions. It is a fundamental strategic choice about the future security of the State of Israel.
For years, the Israeli Left argued that Israel should gradually reduce its reliance on military power. Many believed diplomacy, international guarantees and conflict management could replace overwhelming military superiority.
The Right consistently rejected that approach. We understood the Middle East as it is, not as we wished it to be. We recognized that Israel's existence depends first and foremost on its ability to defend itself, by itself.
That was the essence of Jabotinsky's Iron Wall.
Yet today it is a self-proclaimed Right-wing coalition that has embraced a policy whose inevitable consequence is a smaller army, a more overstretched reserve force and a weaker Israel.
The contradiction could not be more glaring.
Manpower shortages will force Israel into an impossible position
The Israel Defense Forces have made their position unmistakably clear. The Chief of Staff, appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, has repeatedly warned that the IDF faces a severe manpower crisis.
After years of continuous fighting on multiple fronts, reserve soldiers have served hundreds of days away from their families and businesses. Regular units are stretched thin, new battalions are needed, and existing forces require reinforcement.
These are not political opinions, they are operational realities.
Every exemption granted today means another reservist called up tomorrow.
Every young man who is permanently exempt from service increases the burden on those already carrying it.
Every political compromise made in the coalition room is eventually paid for by soldiers on the battlefield.
Israel today is unlike any period in its history. Hamas remains a threat in Gaza. Hezbollah continues to rebuild its capabilities in Lebanon. Iran openly seeks Israel's destruction while expanding its regional network of proxies. Syria remains unstable. Terrorism in Judea and Samaria demands an ongoing military presence.
A genuinely right-wing government would understand that these realities demand expanding the IDF, not shrinking the pool of those expected to serve.
Instead, we are moving in precisely the opposite direction.
The result will not simply be longer reserve duty or heavier burdens. It will eventually become a strategic dilemma.
If manpower shortages continue to worsen, Israel may soon be forced to make impossible choices. Do we maintain sufficient forces in Judea and Samaria to protect our communities there? Do we maintain our presence in Lebanon? Do we retain enough combat brigades for operations in Gaza? Or do we simply accept that the IDF cannot simultaneously fulfil every mission expected of it?
These are choices Israel should never have to make.
Yet they are becoming increasingly likely because this coalition has chosen politics over security.
Judiasm balances Torah study and combat
Supporters of these laws insist Torah study contributes to Israel's security in its own way. Judaism has always recognized the immense spiritual value of Torah learning, and Torah scholars have played an indispensable role in preserving Jewish civilization throughout history.
Our sages understood the balance between learning and combat very well, and the Talmud, the Rambam, and multiple other authorities ruled that in a time of obligatory war, which we face every single day, a bride and groom can be pulled from the bridal canopy.
This example was used specifically by our rabbis to demonstrate the enormity of the need and the immediacy of the moment.
The tragedy is that this legislation, led by those who claim to be Orthodox Jews, does not merely weaken the IDF, it reforms Jewish law and practice.
It also fundamentally rewrites the identity of Israel's national camp.
For over one hundred years, the Right believed military strength was the indispensable foundation upon which every other national aspiration rested.
Settlement, sovereignty, deterrence and diplomacy all depend on an army capable of defending them.
Without sufficient soldiers, there can be no effective security presence in Judea and Samaria. Without enough combat units, deterrence erodes. Without deterrence, the Iron Wall itself begins to crack.
Jabotinsky understood this better than anyone.
The irony is difficult to ignore. Those who most loudly proclaim themselves guardians of Jabotinsky's legacy have become the first government in Israel's history to legislate policies that knowingly reduce the country's military capacity during wartime.
History will judge this moment harshly.
Not because the coalition reached another political compromise.
Not because another Basic Law was enacted, but because at a defining moment for Israel's security, it abandoned the central principle that sustained the Zionist Right for generations: that the first responsibility of any government is to ensure the State of Israel possesses an army strong enough to defend every citizen, on every border, against every threat.
That was Jabotinsky's Iron Wall.
This coalition has not strengthened it.
It has broken it.
The writer is a Member of Knesset and Yisrael Beytenu Knesset Faction Chairman.