Parents of fallen soldiers slam government’s proposed enlistment bill

By Sam Sokol 1 December 2025, 10:54 am

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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"

A Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Parents of fallen soldiers slam the government’s proposed bill on ultra-Orthodox conscription at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Haggai Luber, whose son, Sgt. Yehonatan Luber, was killed in battle in the south of Gaza in December 2023, calls on “members of the coalition that I voted for” to “completely” oppose the law, warning that “whoever votes in favor, we will hold them politically accountable.”

Declaring that he is “fighting my son’s fight,” Luber argues that the proposed law is “dangerous from a security standpoint, from a social standpoint, and from a leadership standpoint” because it “doesn’t even begin to meet the army’s needs.”

“In this committee, you know exactly what challenges the State of Israel faces, and you are not providing what the army requires. For reasons we don’t understand, you are harming the security of the state,” he continues, arguing that the bill discriminates between Israelis.

“If you’re born into the right sector [of society] your life is much safer in Israel,” he says. “If you’re born into the wrong sector, you will be obligated to go [to reserve duty] again and again and again,” he says, insisting that coalition lawmakers are not showing leadership in an election year.

Itzik Bunzel, whose son Amit also fell in Gaza, directs his ire toward the Haredim, challenging United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush on why they should be exempt from military service.

“Do you think my children should risk their lives and give everything? You can’t even look me in the eyes,” he says.

“I buried my son Amit, while in this country there are Haredim walking around the streets doing nothing. Not those who are truly studying Torah. It’s time for you to demand equality. Those who study should study, and those who don’t should put on a uniform and enlist in the army. And at the same time, why aren’t you talking about Arabs in the State of Israel? About the sector that lives at our expense while our children are crawling in the sand?” he asks.

The vast majority of Arab Israelis are not drafted and do not enlist or carry out national service.