Katz to meet with Knesset committee next week to continue talks on Haredi draft legislation

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is set to continue its discussion with Defense Minister Israel Katz regarding his principles for ultra-Orthodox enlistment next Wednesday, following a hearing on the issue earlier this week. His presentation will be preceded by a closed briefing by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Tuesday.

During his first briefing, Katz pushed back against the military’s assertion that it will soon be able to conscript ultra-Orthodox men without restriction, telling lawmakers that the number of Haredim drafted into the military should be increased gradually year-over-year until it hits 50 percent of the annual eligible Haredi draft cohort in 2032.

He listed two nonnegotiable criteria that any legislation dealing with the issue would have to meet in order to win his support: that Haredim would engage in “real and significant service while safeguarding their lifestyle,” and the preservation of the “Torah world” — the network of full-time yeshivas that form the backbone of ultra-Orthodox society.

Katz’s briefing to the committee was interrupted by relatives of the hostages held in Gaza, who spent much of the meeting yelling at the minister, preventing him from answering lawmakers’ questions.