Story perspectives

IDF Boosts Haredi Enlistment to 4,000 Amid Blockade Push

7/30/2026

Summary

IDF Boosts Haredi

The IDF recorded over 4,000 haredi recruits between July 2025 and July 2026, up from about 1,700 before October 7 2023.
About 1,000 entered combat units, leaving a shortfall of roughly 7,500 combat and support soldiers.
In response, the IDF added three haredi tracks, launched Hashmonaim Brigade, appointed Brig. Gen. Avinoam Emunah as haredi-affairs adviser, and cited sanctions, arrests and a Tuesday High Court injunction as factors that spurred enlistment through Kodkod program.

Summary

Haredi Blocks Enlistment

Haredi religious and political leaders have launched a campaign and pushed legislation to block ultra-Orthodox youth from military service.
They fear service will erode modesty, gender segregation, prayer, kosher food and other Jewish law practices.
About 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18-24 remain unenlisted, and the IDF says it needs 12,000 recruits.
Critics say enlistment data may be skewed because the ultra-Orthodox definition relies on education-system records.

History

Historical Context

After Justice Aharon Barak’s 1998 ruling that ended the Tal Law exemption for roughly 30,000 ultra-Orthodox men, successive courts and Knesset bills in 2024 stripped yeshiva subsidies and ordered conscription. By July 2026 the IDF had added over 4,000 Haredi soldiers yet still needed about 7,500 combat and support troops, prompting renewed legislative pressure.

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IDF Boosts Haredi

The IDF recorded over 4,000 haredi recruits between July 2025 and July 2026, up from about 1,700 before October 7 2023.
About 1,000 entered combat units, leaving a shortfall of roughly 7,500 combat and support soldiers.
In response, the IDF added three haredi tracks, launched Hashmonaim Brigade, appointed Brig. Gen. Avinoam Emunah as haredi-affairs adviser, and cited sanctions, arrests and a Tuesday High Court injunction as factors that spurred enlistment through Kodkod program.

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