Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more
×

compulsory military service

IDF Personnel Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa speaks with new Haredi soldiers at the Tel Hashomer base, May 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
July 18, 2026, 3:18 am
IDF manpower chief: Extension of service period doesn’t replace need for more troops
Dado Bar Kalifa says extending compulsory service to 32 months ‘allows a minimal breathing room’ for conscripts and reservists, calls ‘to expand the scope of draftees and those serving’
By Emanuel Fabian
Bereaved families, friends and Israeli soldiers visit the Nova music festival massacre memorial site in Re’im Forest during Israel’s Memorial Day, April 21, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
April 21, 2026, 6:10 pm
Memorial Day exposes widening rift between public and political leadership
2.5 years of war, a lack of Oct. 7 accountability, and Haredi draft exemptions have turned a day of unity into one of dissent as leaders ask citizens to bear increasingly unbearable costs
By Ariela Karmel
Lt. Col. Avigdor Dickstein (left), who is in charge of encouraging ultra-Orthodox enlistment, and Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb (right), head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Subcommittee for IDF Human Resources, May 21, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)
January 20, 2026, 10:55 pm
30,000 Israelis designated as draft evaders, but true figure is higher, IDF says
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee told the figure is likely to rise by many thousands in coming month, as coalition rushes to pass law exempting Haredim from service
By Sam Sokol
Police clash with ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against conscription to the IDF, in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025. (Fadel SENNA / AFP)
October 30, 2025, 10:56 pm
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men clash with cops at end of anti-enlistment protest
Three officers said wounded by Haredi protesters who block entrance to Jerusalem following massive rally; footage shows cop waving gun as he evacuates injured colleague
By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order in Jerusalem on August 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
August 10, 2025, 2:49 am
Haredim said considering protesting at Israeli embassies against arrest of draft dodgers
Escalating protest against military’s crackdown on draft evaders comes as new defense committee chair promises to ‘find the balance’ between religious tradition and military service
By Sam Sokol
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and his wife Ayala attend a conference called "Israel's return to the Temple Mount," at the Knesset, July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 26, 2025, 10:18 pm
Ayala Ben Gvir says she feels like ‘reservist’s wife’ as far-right minister tours US
Opposition MK tells wife of the Otzma Yehudit leader, who was barred from IDF service over his extremism, that she is ‘not a reservist’s wife, you’re the wife of a convicted felon’
By ToI Staff
A member of the Haredi community near a protest against the drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews outside an IDF recruitment center in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
November 24, 2024, 6:19 pm
Haredim in favor of IDF service insist only carrots, not sticks, will draw more recruits
As the military issues the first of 7,000 new conscription notices, communal leaders say soldiers coerced into service are liabilities: ‘They would be destroyed in Lebanon or Gaza’
By Mati Wagner
Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf attends the plenary session of the opening day of the winter session at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on October 28, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 31, 2024, 11:30 am
In his blusterous fight for Haredi draft exemptions, Goldknopf is increasingly isolated
UTJ leader is confident his ultimatums will shield his constituents from army service, even as he antagonizes more pragmatic colleagues and casualty-weary national-religious leaders
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Illustrative: Haredi students study at the Kamenitz Yeshiva, in Jerusalem, August 22, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
March 28, 2024, 11:42 pm
In ‘historic’ step, High Court orders halt to yeshiva funds for students eligible for draft
Attorney General tells court army will be obligated to begin drafting Haredi men on April 1; judges shoot down PM’s request for 30 more days to settle matter
By Jeremy Sharon
A reserves soldier, right, walks next to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man in the Old City of Jerusalem, January 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
March 25, 2024, 4:14 am
Attorney general said to warn coalition Haredi army draft proposal legally unsound
Amid backlash against draft legislation, treasury says extending mandatory service rather than conscripting ultra-Orthodox will cost economy more than $28 billion over 10 years
By ToI Staff
Students at the Mir Yeshiva in the ultra orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim listen to a lesson by Rabbi Dov Landau, head of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak, September 19, 2023. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
February 21, 2024, 11:51 pm
AG says Haredim face military draft if no legislation by April, seeks deadline extension
Responding to petitions, Baharav-Miara’s office tells top court more time needed to solve community’s army service conundrum; Smotrich: ‘Situation is outrageous, cannot continue’
By Jeremy Sharon
Members of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, including party leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as well as Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf hold a party meeting at the illegal West Bank settlement outpost of Evyatar, February 27, 2023. (Courtesy: Otzma Yehudit)
May 25, 2023, 2:49 pm
Far-right proposal saying gov’t policy must adhere to ‘Zionist values’ set for vote
Cabinet motion scheduled for Sunday asserts Jewish right to settle all ‘Land of Israel,’ including West Bank, seeks to better implement contentious Nation-State Law
By Jeremy Sharon
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a ceremony at the National Headquarters of the Israel Police in Jerusalem, on April 20, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90)
April 23, 2023, 7:46 pm
Ben Gvir to sue anti-government activist group which claimed he dodged IDF draft
National security minister – who was not drafted due to extremist activity – demands NIS 10 million in compensation from Brothers in Arms protest group
By ToI Staff
Nahal Brigade troops are seen during an exercise, November 2, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)
March 10, 2022, 12:18 pm
Knesset delays 2-month reduction in mandatory military service for men
Male soldiers will continue to serve for 32 months at least until July 2024; bill cites manpower shortages as result of previous cut in 2015
By Emanuel Fabian
Left: IDF combat soldiers take part in a drill in December 2021; Right: An IDF soldier from the C4I Corps types on a computer. (Israel Defense Forces)
December 25, 2021, 2:46 pm
As start-up nation snaps up IDF tech alumni, combat vets say they are left behind
In a changing Israel where those hailing from tech units get the red carpet treatment for high-wage jobs, a debate is growing on what constitutes significant IDF service
By Itamar Sharon
Load More

Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community

Sign in or Register

Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Sign in or Register
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Back to top
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.