Haredi draft

'Know your place': Gotliv calls for IDF chief Zamir's dismissal after his criticism of draft law

“The chief of staff should be the number one soldier and nothing else,” Shekalim said. “He is not supposed to be a lawmaker, and he is not supposed to set policy."

|By103FM
MK Osher Shekalim speaks during a meeting of Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 29, 2026.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem, May 10, 2026.

IDF chief Zamir clashes with Netanyahu, Katz over bill exempting haredi draft dodgers from arrests

In a sharply worded letter, Zamir said the haredi exemption law would harm recruitment and create serious security risks for the IDF.

|ByYONAH JEREMY BOB, SHOSHANA BAKER
A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protester argues with a police officer outside the Jerusalem IDF recruitment center, April 12, 2026.

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
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

First haredi unit opens at Tel Nof Air Force base with 20 recruits amid mass draft protests

Gadi Eisenkot said that implementing a law for mandatory service for all “is a moral imperative. Only it will return Israel to the right path, and safeguard Israel's security."

JUNE 14, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
First Haredi unit at Tel Nof Airforce base

By passing Torah Study law, Israel risks turning holiness into a bargaining chip - editorial

A government that truly cared about Torah would not use it to divide soldiers from students, mourners from politicians, and Jews from one another.

JUNE 12, 2026ByJPOST EDITORIAL
Ultra orthoodx jewish men block a road and clash with police during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, on road 6 near the Ben Shemen junction, June 11, 2026.

Editor's Notes: High Court ruling on women in tanks deepens religious divide in IDF - comment

Women who made history in tanks on Oct. 7 fought in all-female crews. Both camps in the Armored Corps dispute should be claiming that morning as a victory. Instead, both pretend it never happened.

JUNE 12, 2026ByZVIKA KLEIN
DF armored forces at a staging area in southern Israel near the border with Gaza. January 01, 2024.

WATCH: Haredi draft protests shut down highways, trains for two hours, scuffle with police

One 21-year-old haredi protester was hit by a car on Highway 1, and one 93-year-old civilian man was injured in the protests.

JUNE 11, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Haredi protesters block a highway in Israel on June 11, 2026.

Shin Bet investigates haredi protests amid concerns over threats to government sites - report

The Shin Bet is investigating haredi anti-conscription protests after multiple disruptive incidents, amid concerns that future demonstrations could threaten government sites or officials.

JUNE 10, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold placards during a protest against conscription in Israel's military, in Jerusalem on October 30, 2025.

Knesset advances bill to enshrine Torah study into Basic Law, supporting haredi draft evaders

It proposes that the State of Israel "recognize those who commit themselves to long-term dedication to Torah study as performing significant service to the state and the Jewish people."

JUNE 10, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
MK Tally Gotliv and and MK Ofir Katz attend a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on, June 9, 2026.

Grapevine: Fiscal support for the ultra-Orthodox

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JUNE 9, 2026ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Border Police go about coronavirus inspections in Mea Shearim, a haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Ministerial committee approves Torah Study bill amid coalition tensions

Netanyahu’s coalition advances the Torah Study law, despite opposition and warnings that the bill could worsen draft evasion amid Israel’s manpower shortage.

JUNE 9, 2026ByKESHET NEEV
Shas leader MK Aryeh Deri seen during a Shas party meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 23, 2023.

Shas pushes tone-deaf Torah study law while soldiers die in Lebanon, Gaza - comment

Those who see Torah study as essential should acknowledge the unique burden borne by those who leave their lives behind to defend the country, and that yeshiva study is not a comparable sacrifice.

JUNE 9, 2026ByHERB KEINON
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector has been protesting over the attempts to draft young haredi men into the military.

The rabbis attacking Israel’s courts are attacking Religious Zionism - opinion

The very ethos of Religious Zionism is integration: to bridge the sacred and the worldly, and to play an integral role in building the State of Israel.

JUNE 9, 2026ByELAD CAPLAN
Ultra orthodox jewish men protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, at the home of Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg in the settlement of Alon Shvut, June 3, 2026.