From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 4, 2026
Despite protests, IDF personnel officer says hundreds of Haredim enlisted, most in combat roles
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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"
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men enlisted in the IDF today despite Haredi protests aiming to obstruct them, and most will serve in combat roles, a senior military officer tells lawmakers.
Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, says that as of this afternoon, “there were over 210 fighters and over 140 combat support troops and it is likely that in 10 days this will end with the largest enlistment in recent times.”
The new troops are slated to serve in the ultra-Orthodox Netzach Yehuda battalion, Hasmonean brigade and other Haredi-oriented tracks.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters attempted to stop the recruits at the Jerusalem enlistment office and the Bakum military induction base in central Israel, leading to clashes with police, who used water cannons to disperse them.
According to the Ynet news site, demonstrators yelled that the recruits would become secular in the army, and called them “sinners” and “murderers.”
The Times of Israel Community.