The words (in the Haredi weekly, Yated Ne’eman ) landed like a thunderclap: the community is “at war.” Not a metaphor, not a figure of speech, but war. So the claim went. The State of Israel, we are told, has declared war on the Haredim, and they must now respond in kind.

How will the war be fought? Various options have been raised. Protests and disruptions are one. Economic pressure is another, pulling Haredi capital from Israel. Even the idea of causing diplomatic damage has been floated via an international religious Jewish coalition.

But in war, things escalate and often spiral out of control. The enemy, we hear from one figure, is like the Nazis, or even worse. And as in ages past, others state, we will be victorious, just as we have been for 3,000 years. Vehi She’amda , proclai

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