Also, PJ, agree with everything you said, with the exception of the end goal being secularization. While this might be nice, it is unlikely, for various demographic reasons, and attempting to blindly pursue secularization has generally proven disastrous (ex: the gigantic cluster**** achieved by trying to integrate Haredim into the armed services). Unless you're willing to go into Beit Shemesh and pulling a Peter the Great on them, it's best to work with them to allow them to live their lives as they want, while minimizing the amount of Haredism that spills outside their communities.
Haredism does pose a unique issue. I would prefer Israel abolish conscription entirely and extend a basic minimum income to all instead of requiring Haredis to work. However, the growing population of Haredi Jews means that they are going to have a growing influence over public policy, and it's imperative that the government stops bending over backwards to that before the Haredi population grows even more.
Secularization is important for more reasons than just Haredi integration though. The entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict is kept alive by the Jew vs. Muslim mentality. If the Israeli and Palestinian governments cut ties with their Jewish and Muslim roots, symbolically or otherwise, it will help move towards ending the perception of each government representing a certain religion and promote the idea that the Jews and Muslims can coexist.
