From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 23, 2023
Some 150 Haredi men arrive at recruitment office to be drafted into IDF
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Around 150 Haredim arrive at the recruitment office at Tel Hashomer as the Israel Defense Forces begins to draft them as volunteers in an unprecedented mobilization.
According to the Walla news site, most of the volunteers are members of the Lithuanian stream of ultra-Orthodoxy in Israel and are aged 26-39.
On Saturday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Hagari said the IDF had received more than 2,000 requests from Haredim since the October 7 massacre by the Hamas terror group.
Haredi women and male yeshiva students are generally exempt from military service thanks to a controversial status quo agreement. In 2017, the High Court of Justice invalidated the legal exemption and ordered the government to pass a new conscription law. The government has extended the non-conscription policy and Haredi politicians have sought to pass legislation cementing the exemptions.
Many Haredim believe that studying Torah helps protect the Jewish people and even the state, while serving time in the army would dilute adherence to their strict ways of life and lead impressionable members of the community astray.
Among non-Haredi Jews, this is often perceived as draft dodging by a group that refuses to integrate into mainstream society.
The Times of Israel Community.