From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Hasidic leaders participated in discussions over new protocols for Haredi soldiers — report
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"
Two prominent Hasidic leaders took part in the deliberations leading to the IDF’s approval today of new protocols regulating service conditions for Haredi troops.
According to Channel 13, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the leader of the Belzer Hasidic sect, and Rabbi Boruch Meir Yaakov Shochet, the leader of Karlin-Stolin, were involved in the discussions, sending representatives to discussions and approving proposed conditions for the troops.
IDF officials acknowledged that non-military rabbinical figures were consulted ahead of the publication of the General Staff order, but stressed that they were not given any authority over the protocols.
While the Belzer leader is a member of the Agudat Yisrael faction’s ruling Council of Torah Sages, which is vehemently opposed to the government’s proposed bill regulating Haredi enlistment, his approach has been significantly more pragmatic than those of other Hasidic groups, such as the more hardline Gur.
Agudat Yisrael is currently in the opposition, but faction MK Yisrael Eichler recently accepted a deputy ministerial position, allowing Degel HaTorah MK Yitzhak Pindrus to re-enter the Knesset under Knesset procedures, giving the conscription bill an additional supporter in the plenum. Both Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah are members of the larger United Torah Judaism party.
The new general staff protocols approved today carry binding authority and mandate oversight of special service conditions for Haredi soldiers.
The Times of Israel Community.