Smotrich: ‘Complete lie’ that IDF troops are burdened because of Haredi exemption

Far-right minister contradicts IDF assessments, claims some 50,000 reservists are willing to return to fight; Haredi youths tear down election signs for new ultra-Orthodox party

By Ariela Karmel
  • Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the and Religious Zionism party chairman, tours the Mahane Yehuda Market as part of the party’s election campaign in Jerusalem, October 9, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that it’s “a complete lie” that IDF soldiers are strained because the ultra-Orthodox do not enlist, contradicting repeated warnings from the military about severe manpower shortages.

“I maintain that the claim that the burden on those serving is heavy because the Haredim do not serve is a complete lie,” Smotrich said at a campaign event.

He claimed that some 50,000 combat-trained reservists are willing to return to military service but cannot be put to use due to shortages of equipment and infrastructure, without providing evidence to substantiate that figure.

The IDF has repeatedly warned that it is short some 12,000 soldiers, a gap expected to widen when mandatory service is shortened in early 2027, and has explicitly pointed to the ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions as a reason.

In May, the military warned of severe burnout among troops due to the shortage and cautioned that the reserve force could “collapse” unless legislation was advanced to draft the approximately 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 24 believed to be eligible for military service who have not enlisted.

Smotrich’s remarks came amid longstanding anger within his far-right Religious Zionism party’s base, whose members serve disproportionately in combat roles, over the blanket service exemptions long afforded to Haredi men.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block a road and clash with police during a demonstration against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, in Jerusalem, October 8, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In an example of some of the tensions surrounding the issue of efforts to draft Haredi men, a video circulating online Tuesday showed ultra-Orthodox youths tearing down election campaign signs belonging to a newly formed Haredi political party that advocates for IDF service for non-yeshiva student Haredi men.

Videos showed youths tearing down campaign posters for the Charedi Public party in both Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.

Although the party, led by Moti Leitner, is polling below the 3.25 percent electoral threshold and is not currently expected to enter the Knesset, it poses a potential challenge to the ultra-Orthodox political establishment, both by competing for its traditional voter base and by advocating policies that break sharply with those of the mainstream Haredi parties, Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism and Sephardic Shas.

The party has attracted attention for its calls to tackle poverty in the Haredi community by promoting secular education and workforce participation, as well as military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men who are not studying full-time in yeshiva, in contrast to the positions of the established Haredi parties.

It is also the first ultra-Orthodox party to include women on its electoral slate, with political psychology researcher Dr. Nechumi Yaffe and Zivva Glantz placed third and fourth, respectively. Both would enter the Knesset if the party crossed the electoral threshold and won at least four seats.

Moti Leitner, chairman of the Haredi Public party, party members and supporters attend the launch of the party’s election campaign ahead of the upcoming Israeli general elections in Beit Shemesh, August 23, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Even if it fails to enter the Knesset, the party could potentially weaken Shas and UTJ by drawing away votes that would otherwise go to the established Haredi factions.

“The old Charedi establishment parties recognize the major shift in support toward Charedi Public, and they are scared,” the party said in a statement responding to the footage of youths tearing down its campaign signs.

“We sharply condemn the removal of any election signs for any party. We will not be silenced,” it added.

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