New Knesset defense committee chair congratulates first troops of ultra-Orthodox IDF unit on completing training

By Sam Sokol 6 August 2025, 1:06 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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"

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth congratulates members of the first company of troops from the IDF’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade on their completion of combat training, stating that “the army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other.”

The ultra-Orthodox soldiers completed a lengthy march to the Western Wall in Jerusalem this morning in order to receive the unit’s new signature dark blue beret following seven months of basic and advanced training.

Calling the ceremony “moving,” Bismuth declares that “only together will we win.”

According to the Ynet news site, Bismuth intends to submit a new draft of a bill dealing with Haredi conscription within weeks, and will hold discussions on it during the current Knesset recess to advance it when the parliament reconvenes in October.

הצבא והתורה הולכים יחד, כתף אל כתף. האחת מחזקת את השני.

מברך את חטיבת "החשמונאים" – החטיבה החרדית הראשונה בצה"ל שסיימה היום את מסלול הכשרתם ובטקס מרגש בכותל המערבי קיבלו את הכומתה.

רק יחד ננצח ???????? pic.twitter.com/1reugunZ8m

— Boaz Bismuth (@BismuthBoaz) August 6, 2025

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulates the Haredi troops, writing on X that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The Israel Defense Forces has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, due to the strain on standing and reserve forces amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges. Overall, around 2,700 Haredim in total joined the army over the past year.

Haredi communal leaders have objected to efforts to conscript yeshiva students and crack down on draft dodgers, issuing a statement following a recent rabbinic conference insisting that it was “forbidden to go to any military framework,” even those established to accommodate an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle.