Despite the approval of the draft law in the Knesset and the government, it seems that the ambition of its initiators to achieve 'equality in burden' is only getting further away: According to data presented by the head of the regular manpower planning department at the IDF, Lt. Col. Shai Taib, and reported on the Ynet website, the number of ultra-Orthodox Jews conscripting has dropped by half and now stands at an average of only 75 recruits per month in the last quarter.
In the first quarter of the past recruitment year (July 2013 to June 2014), 601 Haredim joined the army, and in the last quarter – only 294.
The assessment among military officials is that the 'Conscription Law' and the great opposition it aroused also affected the 'moderate' Haredim who would have enlisted had it not been for the law, and have now gathered within the community and chosen not to enlist.
Even in the last quarter, which opened last April, there was a real regression in the numbers: no less than 33 percent are enlisting less than in the previous quarter.
Gidi, a young avrechi, tells Haredim10 that he considered leaving the kollel for studies or civilian service, but with the approval of the draft law, he chose to give up his plans. According to him, "We are at war, and in war you don't think about yourself, but about the community.".
However, a senior official in the Yesh Atid party who spoke to Haredim10 said that the slowdown in the number of recruits was expected, as "society feels attacked and is coming together. Later, the numbers will change and the percentages will grow.".
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