Dramatic year-on-year rise in number of Haredi men enrolled in yeshiva, biggest increase since 2015

There was a dramatic increase in the number of students enrolled in yeshivas in January 2024 compared to January 2023, the biggest rise since 2015, according to figures published by the Israel Democracy Institute in its annual report on ultra-Orthodox society.

The institute says there was an 8.5 percent rise in the number of ultra-Orthodox men in full-time study, when comparing the two time periods.

The IDI says that over the last decade, the number of yeshiva and kollel students has risen by 83%, while the number of Haredi men drafting into the Israel Defense Forces has fallen by 36%.

The institute says that the data for 2024, which it stresses is not final, additionally indicates a drop in the employment rate among ultra-Orthodox men — 54%, compared to 55.5% in 2023.

The share of ultra-Orthodox women in employment remains almost unchanged, and is similar to rates seen in the non-Haredi community.

Meanwhile, 47% of Haredi children live below the poverty line compared to 28% in the general population, and Haredi households contribute far less to mandatory financial payments such as taxes and National Insurance payments.

Non-Haredi households spend some three times more on such monthly payments compared to ultra-Orthodox households on average due to their low levels of income — NIS 4,496 (approximately $1,270) versus just NIS 1,469 ($415), respectively.

In a landmark decision in June, the High Court of Justice ruled unanimously that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the military since there was no longer any legal framework to continue the decades-long practice of granting them blanket exemptions from army service.

Since then, thousands of orders have gone out but few Haredim have enlisted, with the overwhelming majority of those eligible for military service remaining out of the army.

Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers are trying to push through legislation that will extend conscription exemptions for their community’s yeshiva students.