Israel's Biggest Challenges

In honor of the approaching elections, I made a list of the biggest issues facing Israel today. Most of these are things you don’t hear about on the news outside of Israel.

The Haredi Welfare State

The Haredi education and social support system is designed to produce welfare cases who hate the country. It's by far the fastest growing and best-funded system in Israel. Haredim take away the most from the state and give the least.

For example, the average non-Haredi Jewish household annually contributes around 2,200 shekels to the state. The average Arab household takes away around 200 shekels from the state. The average Haredi household costs the state around 2,700 shekels. This simply cannot continue, even if we put their hostility towards the Jewish state aside. A body can only have so much fat before the muscles cannot hold.

The Haredim are also becoming increasingly more violent and disruptive towards other groups. In recent months, they’ve been the cause of more disruptions to the life of the average Israeli than outside enemies. This is without taking into account the immense economical damage they’re causing.

The Haredi parties are currently the biggest threat to Israel's long-term survival. This isn't a matter of ideology, it's simple math.

For Israel to survive, this system must be defunded and the Haredim must be made to contribute at least enough to carry their own weight. Otherwise, the state simply will not survive. The best people will be tired of exploitation and leave and the ones who will remain will not be able to maintain it.

Arab Lawlessness

There are areas in the Negev and North which are effectively ruled by Arab gangs. These groups are armed to the teeth and there is nothing that stands between them and Jewish towns. If tomorrow they decided to switch from organized crime to terrorism, they could carry out an October 7 style attack with ease. Iran would be thrilled to help. Already, the amount of weapons it’s smuggling to Israeli Arabs through Egypt and Jordan is terrifying and includes advanced weapons such as drones and rockets, far more than what is needed for robberies and protection rackets.

Even if we ignore the major security risk from these homegrown cartels, their criminal activities cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels and end up decreasing the quality of life and increasing prices for all Israelis.

To restore security and prevent the next massacre of Jews, the rule of law must be restored to these areas by any means necessary. And make no mistake: this means military action. It cannot be solved by police means alone since the Arab population is generally hostile to the state.

Socialist Bureaucracy

Israel is choked by endless regulations meant to stifle competition and protect narrow interest groups. This results in huge difficulties in opening businesses, importing goods (the taxes are insane!), and even making Aliyah. Why would a Jew from a flourishing Western country move to a country where everything is expensive and difficult? Highly-skilled labor is the source of Israel’s prosperity yet Israel is pushing them away. This connects sharply with the first issue:

The problem with the Haredim is not their religious beliefs but their cynical exploitation of Israel’s socialist welfare policies. They are an extreme collectivist movement; communists without the red flag.

It makes no sense for anyone who opposes the Haredim to support their leftist socialist “rivals”. The solution is to dismantle the excessive welfare state and the socialist system we’re trapped in, not to replace one socialist gang with another. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, Netanyahu and his allies are social democrats as well. Almost all parties in Israel are, in part due to this system’s control over education.

Despite their differences over religion, United Torah Judaism and Shas are, paradoxically, just as much natural allies of Meretz and Labor as they are of Likud. To end this injustice, we don’t need a Mamdani. We need a Javier Milei.

To attract high-quality people from successful countries and stop the brain drain, the archaic bureaucracy, the corrupt national trade union, and various special interest groups must be dismantled and replaced with a true free market.

The War

While there have been achievements in the many fronts in which Israel is engaged right now, not a single one of them has anything people would call a victory. The enemy is diminished but not defeated. The same hostile towns are emptied, resettled, emptied again, then resettled again, each time costing Israeli lives. This is like putting out 99% of the fire and waiting for the flames to rise.

At the end of the day, the IDF depends on the goodwill and trust of the population that serves. If you lose their trust through dirty deals, insane rules of engagement, and lack of purpose, they will simply give up.

People are becoming frustrated from conquering the same villages and towns for the fifth time only to hand them back to the enemy. And without a strong and highly-motivated military, Israel won’t survive five minutes.

To win lasting peace, Israel must truly crush the enemy, not just degrade his armed factions. Otherwise, all tactical achievements will be eroded in a matter of years and this madness will start again.

Honorable Mentions

While less critical, other issues that need to be addressed are:

• International relations. We need proactive PR, not just PSAs. Right now, the state of Israel is mute and pro-Israel organizations are reactive. We must take initiative and attack in the information war!

• The judiciary. Israel has a serious constitutional problem and frankly the class of people who become judges is quite terrible. This must be resolved while maintaining the separation of powers. Not easy!

• The military. Same problem as the judiciary. Israel’s officers a small group of ideologically cohesive people who appoint each other. This made the IDF unimaginative and stale. The officer class needs a serious refreshment!

• Political system. Israel has zero separation between legislation and execution. These are literally the same people. Folks can vote for parties but don’t have personal representatives. It’s almost impossible to form a stable government. The whole thing is a mess a needs to change!

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