以色列贝内布拉克讯——在以色列近年来的战争中，极端正统派犹太人群体已成为摩擦的核心点。国家建国时，政治与宗教领袖达成一项协议，豁免当时少数极端正统派男子服兵役。该举措旨在帮助犹太学者从大屠杀的毁灭中恢复。
OHAD ZWIGENBERG BNEI BRAK, Israel — In Israel’s recent years of war, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population has become a central point of friction. A deal made at the country’s creation between political and religious leaders exempted what was then a small number of ultra-Orthodox men from compulsory military service. The act was meant to help Jewish scholars recover from the devastation of the Holocaust.
此后，极端正统派人口已成为该国增长最快的群体。兵役豁免令许多以色列人感到不满，他们将年轻男女送往前线作战，并目睹数百人丧生。这一问题可能成为周二紧张选举中的决定性因素，总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡依赖极端正统派选民。
Since then, the ultra-Orthodox population has become the country’s fastest-growing group. The military exemption has grated on many Israelis who send their young men and women off to fight and have seen hundreds killed. The issue could be decisive in Tuesday’s close election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relies on the ultra-Orthodox vote.
数月来，美联社摄影师奥哈德·茨维根伯格记录了以色列最著名的犹太经学院之一——庞维兹犹太经学院中极端正统派学生的生活，以深入了解这个高度保守的社区。当年轻人进入这所精英神学院时，象征以色列世俗生活的特拉维夫天际线展现在他们身后。
For months, Associated Press photographer Ohad Zwigenberg has documented the lives of ultra-Orthodox students at one of Israel’s most prominent yeshivas, Ponevezh, for a look inside the highly conservative community. As the young men enter the elite seminary, the skyline of Tel Aviv, the symbol of Israeli secular life, spreads out behind them.
学生们白天黑夜地研读《托拉》和犹太律法及注释，在附近共用简陋的公寓，以保持专注并像其他人一样放松：从自动售货机买零食，有时吸烟，夏季假期在死海度过。
The students spend long days and nights studying the Torah and Jewish law and commentary, sharing simple apartments nearby to maintain focus and decompress like anyone else: snacking from vending machines, sometimes smoking, spending summer breaks at the Dead Sea.
这是他们从小进入的世界，也是为未来更复杂的世界做准备的世界，许多人希望这能让他们成为受人尊敬的拉比。他们担心，离开近三年服兵役会改变他们。
It’s a world they entered as children and one that trains them for a more complex world ahead, which many hope will lead to a respected position as a rabbi. They fear that leaving for nearly three years of military service would change them.
学生们表示，他们的学习在精神上保护犹太人民，并维系着整个世界，没有比这更高的职责。这一信念是以色列面临的关于人民在服务于受威胁国家中的责任问题的核心。这是由美联社摄影编辑策划的纪实摄影故事。
The students said their studies play an essential role in protecting the Jewish people spiritually and in sustaining the world at large. They say there is no higher duty. That belief is at the heart of a question facing Israel about the responsibilities of its people in service of a nation under threat. This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.