During a parliamentary meeting chaired by MK Mickey Levy, members of the Knesset discussed the military enlistment of young men from the ultra-Orthodox community.
According to data presented at the meeting, out of 66,000 Haredim young men of enlistment age, only 540 decided to enlist since the war started, which amounts to just 0.81%. Mickey Levy emphasized that the situation is outrageous, and the very concept of the "IDF as the people's army of Israel" is now under threat.
Since Operation Swords of Iron began, 540 Haredim men have enlisted for military service, 450 of whom have joined an ultra-religious reserve battalion. In addition, 4,000 men over the age of 26 have volunteered for IDF's Shlav Bet shortened service program, but only 600 of them were accepted, completed a two-week introductory training course, and participated in reserve operations.
Mickey Levy stated that after the events of October 7, Israel found itself in a completely different security situation, necessitating urgent changes, including a significant increase in military enlistment among the ultra-Orthodox community.
Maj. (res.) Yossi Levi, CEO of the Nahal Haredi nonprofit organization, which has been dealing with the Haredi draft issue for 15 years, stated during the meeting that Israel has never developed or implemented a serious government program on this issue.
The initiator of the meeting, the Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman, stated that the tragedy of October 7 marked the beginning of genuine integration of all population groups into Israeli society, not only the ultra-Orthodox, but also Muslims, Druze, Circassians, and others.
"It is in the interest of the ultra-Orthodox sector to seize this opportunity and integrate into Israeli society. This opportunity must not be missed," Lieberman said.
