Draft

IDF faces looming manpower gap as ultra-Orthodox draft fight stalls service extension

The haredi draft issue is growing in urgency as the bill returned to the Knesset agenda amid a coalition crisis that may dissolve the Knesset.

IDF troops active in Southern Lebanon, published on April 28, 2026.
MK Boaz Bismuth seen with Haredi MK's during a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 14, 2026.

Haredi draft bill back on agenda ahead of Knesset dissolution vote

 Rabbi Dov Lando seen during a meeting to discuss the drafting of ultra-Orthodox jews to the IDF in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, April 5, 2024.

Haredi spiritual leader gives green light for Degel Hatorah to disband gov't over draft law

Anti-IDF haredi activists Jerusalem Faction activists block the road under Jerusalem's Chords Bridge, April 29, 2026.

WATCH: Police forcefully disperse anti-draft haredi Jerusalem Faction protest at Chords Bridge


Failure to draft ultra-Orthodox cost economy NIS 8.5 billion - study

These estimates were based on publicly available information and BDO estimates, and the calculation was based on conservative assumptions.

 HAREDI MEN learn at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Mea She’arim, Sept. 13, 2023.

Younger sisters of two observers murdered on Oct. 7 enlist to the IDF on the same day

Both girls said that they thought their big sisters would be proud of them, and the watches they inherited will help them remember to keep in touch with their parents in the weeks ahead.

 FAMILIES AND SUPPORTERS of Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hamas from the Nahal Oz surveillance outpost on October 7 demand the release of all hostages held in Gaza, outside the home of Shas head MK Aryeh Deri in Jerusalem, earlier this week.

'Throw them in the toilet': Yitzhak Yosef urges students to 'tear up' draft orders

"What do we have without our Torah? Why did we come here—to become secular? If a draft notice arrives, tear it up. Do you have a toilet at home? Flush it down,” Yosef said.

 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef during a shaharit prayer in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 17, 2024.

Knesset debates bill to lengthen mandatory IDF service to 36 months

The expansion of the IDF's manpower is with the aim of meeting heightened security needs and reducing the burden on reservists.

 IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, August 4, 2024

Israel on its way to temporarily extending mandatory IDF service

Knesset extends IDF service to 36 months temporarily, sparking debate over fairness and military readiness amid financial concerns and opposition.

 An IDF soldier is seen wearing a Jewish tzitzit while carrying a weapon in Jerusalem, May 13, 2024

Shas spiritual leaders encourage haredim to refuse draft orders

The message stated Shas rabbis “have firmly instructed that as of now, with no new law yet established to regulate the status of yeshiva students, no draft orders or summons should be responded to."

The July 18 issue of the Shas newspaper Haderech.

IDF unsure how many haredi draft orders it intends to send on Sunday

The IDF's draft plans for haredi citizens remain uncertain. Despite political tensions and a lack of clear criteria, the IDF targets 3,000 recruits annually.

 MKs debate haredi draft bill in Knesset, 18 June 2024

Ultra-Orthodox extremists hurl bottles at IDF senior commanders in Bnei Brak, call them 'murderers'

Two IDF officials were attacked in Bnei Brak after a meeting about an ultra-Orthodox IDF division. Extremists surrounded their car, shouting slurs.

 Ultra-Orthodox Jews block a road during a protest outside the city of Bnei Brak, March 3, 2024

Israel's cabinet extends mandatory IDF service amid haredi draft controversy, sparking criticism

Israel's cabinet voted to extend mandatory IDF service to 36 months, sparking controversy over unequal conscription, particularly with yeshiva students' exemptions.

 ‘THE HAREDI leadership argues that it is forbidden to draft yeshiva students whose Torah is their profession and that they defend the State of Israel through their studies.’

Haredi leaders considering forbidding yeshiva students from cooperating with IDF

In the meetings, the leaders agreed that if conscription orders are sent to a large number of Ultra-orthodox students - they would immediately issue such an order until the status.

 HAREDI JEWS walk in the streets of the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, in Jerusalem, earlier this month.