Army planning chief: ‘IDF is short thousands of soldiers’

Brig. Gen. Gadi Agmon tells Knesset committee that ultra-Orthodox recruits can help fill the void

By Yoel Goldman 29 May 2012, 5:49 am

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Illustrative photo of soldiers from Nahal Haredi, an ultra-Orthodox battalion in the Israel Defense Forces (Abir Sultan/Flash90, File)

The head of the IDF’s Planning and Personnel Division told the Knesset committee charged with developing an alternative to the Tal Law Monday that the armed forces are lacking in thousands of recruits.

Brig. Gen. Gadi Agmon said to the Committee for the Advancement of an Equal Burden that young ultra-Orthodox men could reduce the current gap if they enlist, Israel Radio reported.

Agmon noted that there are 7,500 18-year-old Haredi men eligible for induction into the military this year.

The Knesset committee, headed by Yohanan Plesner (Kadima), is working to create a more equal distribution of national and military service in Israel.

Head of the Knesset's Committee for the Advancement of an Equal Burden, Kadima's Yohanan Plesner (photo credit: Kobi Gideon/Flash90)

It was briefed on Monday by representatives of the military, the civil service and several government offices.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court struck down the Tal Law – which enabled Haredi Torah students to defer army service – as unconstitutional. The government has since pledged to replace it with a law that “will divide the burden on a more equal, more egalitarian and more just basis for all Israelis, Jewish and Arab alike.”

Last year, only 1,282 ultra-Orthodox men between the ages of 18 and 26 enlisted in the IDF, according to Israel Radio.

Part of the coalition agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz was to quickly legislate an alternative to the Tal Law. Netanyahu pledged to pass such a law by the end of July.