Report: Charedi Parties Agree To Draft 25% Of Annual Cycle To IDF, 50% In Future Cycles

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In the wake of the public debate over the new Draft Law, a dramatic proposal has allegedly been put forward by Charedi parties to begin drafting approximately 25% of yeshiva students who come of age each year, and later raise the percentage to nearly 50%, which would amount to 6,000 yeshiva students, Israel Hayom reported.

In marathon talks over the draft law between the charedi parties and the Likud and other government partners, it was agreed to start with a draft of 25% of every year’s recruitment cycle, numbered at some 12,600 per year. After a few years the number could even go up to nearly 50% or 6000 recruits per year. Currently only about 1200 “charedim” per year enlist in the IDF, most of whom are either former charedim or come from national-religious charedi homes.

Yisrael Hayom surmised that either Oct. 7th had changed something in the charedi world or that the charedi parties are concerned about the stopping of budgets to yeshiva students and are therefore willing to make an effort to promote a broader draft law.

Yet despite the charedi willingness to compromise, the law is still being delayed due to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has tied his support of the bill to Minister Benny Gantz’s approval of it. Gantz opposes the current draft bill.

According to data quoted by Interior Minister Moshe Arbel in a recent interview, over 1,000 young men who are exempted from army service because “their Torah is their occupation” are not in the yeshivas at all.

Many others are registered in yeshivas which haredim refer to as “yeshivas for drop-outs,” attended by yeshiva students who are not capable of learning but who are registered in these yeshivas in order to avoid enlistment. The haredi representatives engaged in discussions on the Draft Law are aware of this.