From the Liveblog of
Saturday, October 18, 2025
IDF says it hasn’t received MK Bismuth’s outline for Haredi conscription law
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
The IDF says it has not yet received a copy of a document outlining the principles of a potential ultra-Orthodox draft bill written by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth, which he has said will serve as the basis of a new law to be drafted in the coming days.
In a statement to national broadcaster Kan, the military states that the “updated draft of the proposed conscription law has not yet been submitted to the relevant professional bodies in the IDF, and therefore it is not possible to comment on it.”
“The IDF has broad and urgent manpower needs that are required to meet operational challenges. These needs have been presented numerous times in various committees and have not changed from how they were previously presented,” the statement continues.
“The IDF, as part of the committee discussions and other professional forums to which it was invited, addressed professional and technical issues that would enable the implementation of the agreed-upon framework in an efficient and effective manner,” the military adds.
Bismuth announced on Thursday evening that he had submitted an outline of principles for a new bill to committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel Shor.
The Likud lawmaker’s office said that “based on the document, a draft law will be formulated in the coming days that will guide the committee in the continuation of the legislative process to regulate the issue of conscription.”
According to Hebrew-language news reports, the document stipulates that within five years, 50 percent of the annual Haredi draft cohort will be conscripted, and the age of exemption will remain at 26.
Yeshiva budgets will only be cut for failing to meet enlistment quotas after a year, and personal sanctions will only go into effect after two years if the overall enlistment goal is not met, according to the reports.
Moreover, those sanctioned will not lose their driver’s licenses, although restrictions on issuing licenses to draft evaders will apply under the new proposal.
According to Kan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed Bismuth to advance the legislation as part of an effort to bring the ultra-Orthodox Shas party back into the government.
The Times of Israel Community.