Katz insists ultra-Orthodox draft deal can only be advanced in cooperation with Haredi parties

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"

Defense Minister Israel Katz (L) attends a discussion on the army conscription law at a Foreign Affairs and Defense committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 14, 2025.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Defense Minister Israel Katz (L) attends a discussion on the army conscription law at a Foreign Affairs and Defense committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 14, 2025.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz insists that legislation regulating ultra-Orthodox enlistment must be advanced with the agreement of that community’s leadership.

“Because the Haredim will be a third of Israel’s population, it is important in my opinion to promote legislation that is based on dialogue and agreement, including by Haredi public leaders,” Katz tells members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

“The goals must be realistic and reflect the correct relationship between the desired and the possible,” he says.

Katz’s enlistment proposal meets with jeers by lawmakers, with some loudly accusing him of promoting draft evasion and engaging in politics.

“You didn’t speak about the needs of the IDF among your principles,” yells MK Merav Michaeli of the Democrats. Others note that the IDF told the committee only last week that starting in 2026 it would have the capacity to absorb Haredi recruits “without any restrictions.”

Responding to criticism from lawmakers that his enlistment plan contradicts the IDF’s own estimate, Katz responds that that “the ability to recruit and absorb are two different things.”

“The ability to recruit in practice is related to areas of agreement with the leaders of the Haredi sector and the existence of a law that regulates the status of Torah scholars. Without a legal arrangement, the ability to absorb them is only on paper,” Katz argues.

Most Popular