IDF general says pausing arrests of Haredi draft dodgers won’t encourage enlistment, while government claims otherwise

By Ariela Karmel

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30 June 2026, 6:11 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate's Planning and Personnel Management Division, attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee hearing at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 30, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, issues a strong rebuke of coalition legislation that would temporarily freeze the arrest and criminal prosecution of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, directly contradicting the government’s claim that enforcement discourages Haredi enlistment.

“The temporary order, in and of itself, will not help me,” Tayeb says, arguing that the measure “doesn’t fulfill its purpose and also endangers some of the things we have achieved.”

Presenting the government’s position, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth and cabinet secretary Yossi Fuchs have said that the measure is needed to ease tensions with the ultra-Orthodox community, contending that arrests and other enforcement measures are counterproductive to recruitment. The committee is debating a temporary order that would suspend arrests, investigations and other enforcement measures against full-time yeshiva students eligible for military service for 90 days.

Appearing before the committee, he tells lawmakers that enforcement measures, “including arrests,” are “part of our ability to implement the Security Service Law” and have contributed to a steady increase in Haredi enlistment since the war began.

According to Tayeb, the number of Haredi recruits has risen from roughly 1,800 in 2024 to an estimated 3,500 this past year. He attributes the increase partly to accessible service tracks that allow Haredi soldiers to “maintain an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle,” such as the Hasmonean Brigade, but also to enforcement measures.

Citing IDF research, he says around 60% of those arrested ultimately report for military service, while the prospect of enforcement has prompted many others to voluntarily regularize their status before facing sanctions.

He warns that “the scale of draft evasion and non-cooperation is unprecedented. The numbers are rising dramatically. We are on our way to reaching 90,000 draft evaders.”

The IDF has repeatedly said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, while some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted.