Among Israel’s Ḥaredim, the basic bourgeois virtues of moderation, hard work, patriotism, and temperate consumption are largely lacking, notes Yehoshua Pfeffer. The constant pressure to strive for religious excellence, the emphasis on Torah study over work and the consequent widespread poverty, the suspicion of government, and the tendency toward asceticism especially among non-ḥasidic Ḥaredim, all militate against the creation of a ḥaredi middle class. Yet changes in ḥaredi society as greater numbers gain more exposure to the outside world, together with a growing minority of men working regular jobs and serving in the military, make the emergence of an ultra-Orthodox bourgeoisie a possibility. Pfeffer argues that such a development is both desirable and feasible, and would be aided by the deep-felt ḥaredi attachment to such traditional middle-class values as duty, voluntarism, and family loyalty.

Many thousands of ḥaredi men and women have already been making their way into Israeli academia, the general workforce, and public service. Even in terms of culture and leisure, large swaths of ḥaredi society have over recent years moved closer to general society, as evidenced both by the development of a ḥaredi culture [complete with its own popular music, newspapers, and so forth] and by increasing ḥaredi consumption of general culture (the popular Shtisel television series, depicting a ḥaredi family residing in Jerusalem, is a good example). Growing numbers of ḥaredi Facebook groups and a significant presence on other social-media platforms also indicate an unprecedented level of openness and integration. . . .

But even within the most conservative segments of ḥaredi society, . . . the growing embourgeoisement is unmistakable. Car ownership, [for instance], has risen sharply (up to 41 percent, based on latest surveys), and many allow themselves to enjoy an occasional meal at a restaurant and even family vacations abroad. . . .

The “heroic bourgeoisie” famously praised by Alexis de Tocqueville exhibits a combination of private initiative with virtue. [And] anyone who knows ḥaredi society cannot fail to be impressed by the degree of private initiative within it. This initiative can be seen in innumerable institutions [engaging in] charitable work, the provision of healthcare, evangelization to non-Orthodox Jews, religious education, and so forth. Some of these, like the United Hatzalah emergency medical service and the ZAKA disaster-response service, have enjoyed broad public resonance in serving the entire Israeli population. [Indeed], almost every second ḥaredi adult is involved in some sort of volunteer activity. If Tocqueville was amazed at the voluntary activities of the churches in America, he would likely have been no less impressed by the activity surrounding the synagogues in ḥaredi society.

[Furthermore], the ideas of Israeli Ḥaredim about economics are surprisingly similar to those of early Americans. A 2015 poll . . . revealed that among voters of various political parties, Ḥaredim are by far the most likely to endorse free-market positions.

Two extraordinary events demonstrate something important about Israel’s most fervent adversaries. One was a speech given at something called The People’s Forum (funded generously by Goldman Sachs), which stated, “When the state of Israel is finally destroyed and erased from history, that will be the single most important blow we can give to destroying capitalism and imperialism.”

The suggestion that this tiny state is the linchpin of a global, centuries-old phenomenon like capitalism goes well beyond anything resembling rational criticism. Even if Israel were guilty of genocide, apartheid, and oppression—which of course it is not—it would not follow that its destruction would help end capitalism or imperialism.

The other was an anti-Israel protest that took place in front of New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, deemed “complicit” in Israel’s evils. At organizers’ urging, participants shouted their slogans at kids in the cancer ward, who were watching from the windows. Given Hamas’s indifference toward the lives of Gazan children, such callousness toward non-Palestinian children from Hamas’s Western allies shouldn’t be surprising. The protest—like the abovementioned speech—deliberately conveyed the message that Israel is the ultimate evil and its destruction the ultimate good, cancer patients be damned.

The fact that Israel’s adversaries are almost comically perverse does not mean that they can be dismissed. If its allies fail to understand the obsessive and irrational hatred that it faces, they cannot effectively help it defend itself.