Draft

Almost half of Israelis support tougher sanctions, pressure to promote haredi conscription - poll

Approximately 31% support conscription only in agreement with Haredi leadership, and 11% believe that efforts to draft Haredi men are futile and should stop.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protester argues with a police officer outside the Jerusalem IDF recruitment center, April 12, 2026.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Knesset plenum to vote in favor of Basic: Law Torah Study bill, shaking hands with Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Israel's hysterical Torah study bill will backfire on the ultra-Orthodox - opinion

What’s really happening is a payoff to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) political parties, against the will of an overwhelming majority of Israelis and in direct defiance of the Supreme Court.

|ByURI REGEV
The Knesset House Committee votes to advance the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties' bill that seeks to enshrine Torah Study in the country's Basic Law. June 30, 2026.

Voting rights and PACs: Solutions for the haredi draft evasion problem - opinion

Our soldiers are exhausted. Over half of our reserve soldiers have logged hundreds of days of military duty. We can’t continue to ask them to shoulder the burden alone.

|ByFERN REISS
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty study Torah outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem during a silent protest against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with military recruitment orders, July 1, 2026; Illustrative.

Basic Law: Debasing Torah - opinion

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study would grant constitutional status to Torah study, but in practice it would turn a sacred obligation into a political and legal instrument. That would harm Torah...

|BySHUKI FRIEDMAN

'We need more soldiers now': Reservists demand Knesset committee to advance draft law

The letter by reservists stated that while the draft law has been debated a number of times, they said that they did not see any progress on the matter.

APRIL 23, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
IDF soldiers operate, eliminate Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist in Gaza, April 21, 2025.

Classified IDF roles prompt probing of Air Force recruits' protest ties - report

One draftee was also asked whether her father, who is a lawyer, had contact with journalists, KAN said. 

APRIL 14, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the Nevatim Air Force base, March 11, 2025

Pre-IDF service participants and reservists demand fair draft for all

March around Knesset highlights call for shared responsibility in IDF service.

MARCH 30, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Reservists and participants in pre-IDF service preparatory "mechinot" gathered near the Knesset Sunday to call for an IDF draft for all, March, 2025.

Sanctions against haredi draft dodgers must be enforced, attorney general warns

"According to the data presented by the military, in the absence of effective enforcement measures, the enlistment rate among this group is negligible,” Limon wrote

MARCH 18, 2025ByELIAV BREUER
POLICE CONFRONT haredi demonstrators blocking a road in Jerusalem, protesting against efforts to draft haredim into the military, earlier this month.

Letters to the Editor, February 24, 2025: Obscene comparison

Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.

FEBRUARY 24, 2025ByLETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters

NGO calls on High Court to cut funding for alternative yeshivas, citing IDF draft evasion

The ultra-Orthodox IDF draft has come to a head as the Israel-Hamas war has seen reservists completing hundreds of days of duty. IDF says it needs more manpower to deal with the new security reality.

JANUARY 23, 2025ByEVE YOUNG
‘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.’

IDF needs to act on recruiting haredim - opinion

Only a conscription law that includes minimal exemptions and with teeth will enable the continued defense and prosperity of the state.

DECEMBER 28, 2024BySHUKI FRIEDMAN
IDF CHIEF OF STAFF Halevi salutes after placing a wreath during a ceremony marking a year since October 7, 2023, at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem. After over 14 months of intense fighting, the army’s burden has hardly decreased, says the writer

Israel Police's violence knows no bounds - comment

The Israel Police is actively adding fuel to the fire.

DECEMBER 20, 2024ByTAMAR URIEL-BEERI
A CONFRONTATION takes place between haredim and police at a protest against drafting the ultra-Orthodox into the military, outside the IDF Recruitment Center at Tel Hashomer.

My Word: Wide awake in a war

Is IDF service suitable for every single young haredi man? No. But there can no longer be an excuse for mass exemptions.

DECEMBER 20, 2024ByLIAT COLLINS
IDF SOLDIERS take part in an army stretcher drill. Israel’s population also needs to carry its share of the burden.

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.

DECEMBER 19, 2024ByEVE YOUNG
HAREDI MEN learn at the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Mea She’arim, Sept. 13, 2023.