The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee began discussing the draft law today (Wednesday). The discussion is taking place against the backdrop of United Torah Judaism's threat that they intend to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset in today's vote.
Committee Chairman MK Boaz Bismut said: "We are renewing the discussion at the Prime Minister's direction with the true intention of completing the enactment of the law that is so needed at this time for the IDF, for the sake of the people's unity, and out of the need to ensure that we do not turn anyone into an enemy, certainly not in a time of war.".
Bismuth referred to a soldier who was tried for wearing a patch with the inscription 'Messiah' and wondered: "How did it happen that this soldier was targeted in such an extreme way? It is impossible to want more Haredim in the IDF and at the same time be terrified of any expression of faith or Jewish spirit that they bring with them.".
""If we want more Haredim in the IDF, we must understand that they will not arrive as secularists with a kippah, they will arrive with their own world of values, with faith, with symbols and with a spirit that will integrate into one Israeli partnership.".
During the discussion, the head of the IDF's Planning and Personnel Management Division, Brigadier General Shai Taib, presented difficult data on the state of manpower in the army.
Brigadier General Taib: "We were not presented with a new draft that was substantially different from the previous versions that we discussed in dozens of discussions last time. The operational need is an immediate need, and it must be addressed regardless of one sector or another. It is clear that the Haredi public, or any public whose attendance rate in military service is low, is a significant part of this discussion.".
Taib said in the discussion that the army needs about 12,000 more soldiers, of which about 7,500 are fighters. "In the second half of 2025, we reached 1,860 ultra-Orthodox recruits, the numbers are rising as a result of there being more adapted tracks. We are at about 32,000 draft dodgers, there are another 50,000 in the 12th order who are also expected to soon become draft dodgers.
""The crisis needs to be resolved. We will reach the 80-90 thousand tax evaders area very soon. This is a normative, legal problem.".
He then presented the numerical gaps in the combatant formation: "The manpower gaps we talked about are on the order of about 12,000 soldiers. Of these, I noted that about 6,000 to 7,500 are combatants. I also added that as we move toward January 2027 - the date when the first soldiers who were drafted for only 30 months of service will be released - this gap is expected to deepen and reach the region of about 17,000 soldiers.".
Brigadier General Taib also addressed recruitment trends among the Haredi public, noting that before the war the average was 1,700 recruits, while in the first year of the war the number rose to about 2,200 and the following year to about 2,800.
He explained that the numbers are rising due to people's desire to join, the opening of diverse tracks, and the impact of sanctions, but warned: "Along with the transition from 32 to 36 months, or in fact the progress to a 30-month model, since we are already in it - it means that in January 2027 we are expected to decrease by the order of about 10% from the number of fighters in the IDF. De facto, the decrease to 30 months, which is calculated on paper as a decrease of about 10%, translates in practice into a decrease of about 15%, and perhaps even more, from the available reserve.".
The bereaved father, Yehoshua Shani, addressed the committee to MKs Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illoz, who oppose the law, and said: "Show responsibility and support the conscription law. This is the only law that will expand the conscription of the ultra-Orthodox and prevent the deepening of the rift.".
Government Secretary Yossi Fox said in the discussion: "The government intends to pass the conscription law here and then in a second and third reading in the plenum. The government asks the committee chairman and the committee's legal counsel to distribute a final version and sign it.".
According to him, "There is one thing that everyone in this room agrees on: the IDF's military strength needs to be significantly increased, both in the regular and reserve ranks. There is no dispute about that. The dispute is about the path. When you reach a situation of confrontation with 80-90 thousand young Haredi men, what do you want to do? Establish detention facilities or recruit soldiers for the IDF?"
""We need to understand that it is impossible to forcefully change the lifestyles of the Haredi public. The question is whether we want to increase the IDF or deepen the rift. The current situation simply does not work.".
Fox added that the law that will be passed, along with the extension of service, "will significantly reduce the gap between regular and reserve military personnel.".
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