Bismuth accuses opponents of Haredi draft exemption bill of being ‘unrealistic’

By Sam Sokol 4 January 2026, 5:49 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth (center) and committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel Shor (right) during a discussion of the government's proposed law to regulate ultra-Orthodox conscription and exemptions, December 28, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz/Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth (Likud) accuses opposition lawmakers critical of his Haredi draft exemption legislation of pushing for policies that will lead to the mass arrest of Haredim rather than their enlistment in the IDF.

Arguing with Yisrael Beytenu MK Sharon Nir, a fierce critic of his bill, Bismuth declares, “If I listen to you, there will be not be 17,000 [Haredi] soldiers, there will be 17,000 prisoners and 5,000 soldiers forced to guard them,” he says. Then, addressing the bill’s opponents, he adds, “You’re unrealistic.”

The bill, which is currently being debated in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, proposes continued military service exemptions for full-time yeshiva students while purportedly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions through the imposition of minimum quotas.

But critics of the legislation say that it includes too many loopholes and opt-outs to effectively meet public demands to mark a significant increase in Haredi conscription.