Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90
Ultra-Orthodox extremists attend a rally in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood against the enlistment of haredi Jews into the Israel Defense Forces, June 30, 2024
(JNS) — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to issue draft orders for 1,000 haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, men next week, the ministry announced on Thursday.
The decision was announced following a discussion on Thursday between Gallant, the IDF’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amir Baram and other high-ranking army officials.
The IDF will send the first batch of roughly 1,000 draft orders to ultra-Orthodox men between the ages of 18 and 26 starting Sunday, followed by additional rounds in the coming weeks. The military previously said it had the capacity to draft 3,000 haredi conscripts in the coming year.
The ministry added that, at the end of each round of draft orders, a “learning process will take place to improve the following rounds.”
On July 9, Gallant first confirmed that the IDF would start inducting haredim in accordance with last month’s High Court ruling that Jerusalem must draft this sector of the population into the armed forces.
Israel’s Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, unanimously ruled against the government on June 25, saying that “at this time, there is no legal framework that makes it possible to distinguish between students of the yeshivahs and others” regarding mandatory service.
Moreover, as no legal justification to support their exemption exists, “It is not possible to continue transferring support funds for yeshivahs and kollels for students who did not receive an exemption or whose military service was not postponed,” the nine-justice panel said.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox generally consider national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war have heightened demands by the general public that haredim contribute to the nation’s defense.
While most Israelis agree that haredim should play a more prominent role in the defense of the Jewish state, some politicians have questioned the behavior and timing of the Supreme Court and the attorney general.
An enlistment bill currently working its way through the Knesset reflects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempt to strike a compromise with his ultra-Orthodox partners, who have threatened to quit the coalition if the mass of haredi yeshivah students are drafted.
The number of haredi men studying in yeshivot who are deemed eligible for military service is estimated at between 63,000 and 66,000. Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, more than a thousand haredi men have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number have volunteered for civilian national service.
