IDF: Only some 70 Haredi men have reported to induction centers since High Court ruling
Landmark decision in June declared there is no legal basis to excuse ultra-Orthodox from compulsory service, but less than three percent of 3,000 drafted have so far cooperated
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Around 70 ultra-Orthodox men have reported to military induction centers since the Israel Defense Forces began drafting men from the Haredi sector last month, far fewer than the amount who were issued the orders to report following a High Court of Justice ruling on the matter, the IDF said Wednesday.
Only seven Haredi men arrived at induction centers on Wednesday to complete screening processes ahead of enlistment, the military said.
Warning that those who repeatedly ignore invitations could face arrest, the IDF said that those who did not report on Wednesday as expected will be called again at a future date.
It said that it had made adjustments to the induction center for the Haredi draftees, mostly by only having male soldiers and officers process them.
The IDF also said it conducted psycho-technical tests and interviews which had been “adapted to the Haredi community,” instead of the usual tests and interviews.
Frequent protests against the draft have been held by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, including on Wednesday, when some 100 men demonstrated near the IDF’s Jerusalem recruitment office in the morning before being dispersed by police. Five people were arrested during the protest, and an investigation was opened into a physical altercation between a passing motorist and a demonstrator.
The head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division said earlier this month that the low turnout may be because of such protests, which are scaring off Haredi men who would otherwise enlist.
The IDF began sending draft orders to approximately 3,000 Haredi men last month in response to a landmark High Court ruling in June saying there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into compulsory military service.
According to the army, the first subgroups of Haredi men to receive draft notices included those who have jobs, are enrolled in institutions of higher education, or hold driver’s licenses — indicators that they are not engaged in full-time yeshiva studies despite having received previous exemptions to study.
The dispute over the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue never achieving a stable resolution. The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists any effort to draft young men.
Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life, and fear that those who enlist will be secularized, with anti-enlistment protesters frequently yelling that they “will die and not enlist.”
Israelis who do serve, however, say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them, a sentiment that has strengthened since the October 7 Hamas attack and the ensuing war, in which hundreds of soldiers have been killed and over 300,000 citizens called up to reserve duty.
In light of the High Court’s position, the government, which includes the Shas and United Torah Judaism ultra-Orthodox parties, has sought to pass legislation that would slowly increase Haredi enlistment, but major gaps remain between the Haredi factions and many senior lawmakers from non-Haredi parties.
