IDF says 400 Haredim have joined its ranks this week

Some 400 members of the ultra-Orthodox community were drafted to the military this week, the IDF says.

The military says they include 196 combat troops and 167 combat support soldiers. A further 23 of the new recruits are still in the process of being assigned a role.

Of the combat soldiers, 105 have been placed in the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion; 48 in the Hasmonean Brigade; 19 in the Tomer Company in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion; 20 in the Hetz Company in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion; and four in the Nevatim Airbase’s ground defense unit.

In addition to the conscripts, another 26 older Haredi men joined the military as reservists. Those men are those who have already completed the so-called Shlav Bet (Stage B) track, in which older people are put through two weeks of basic training before being sent to serve in noncombat roles.

The 26 reservists, along with another 100, will next week begin an additional six-month combat training period before being sent to the Hasmonean Brigade’s reserve company.

The IDF says it “will continue to work to expand the recruitment of the ultra-Orthodox community, while maintaining their religious lifestyle throughout their service and adjusting the conditions of the service to their needs.”

The military will soon complete sending out a total of 24,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community, an effort that began last summer. This past year, some 70,000 Haredi males were listed as eligible for military service.

In addition to those orders, the IDF is also sending out first draft orders to all Israelis who turn 16.5, without exempting Haredim as it previously did. (Soldiers only join the military from age 18, but the recruitment process begins earlier.)

The military has said that it currently requires some 10,000 new soldiers — 70 percent of whom will be combat troops — but can only accommodate the enlistment of an additional 3,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers this year, due to their need for special conditions. This would be in addition to some 1,800 Haredi soldiers who are already drafted annually.