In a development Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi issued a directive to IDF Human Resources Head Maj. Gen. Dudu Bar Kalifa, instructing him to immediately present a detailed plan for significantly expanding the distribution of draft notices to the chareidi community.
The directive comes amid the intensification of military operations in Gaza, with Israel’s political leadership pushing for heightened manpower and mobilization. Against this backdrop, the Chief of Staff’s demand for an immediate and structured plan marks a notable shift in policy toward the enlistment of chareidim.
Sources indicate that the army is preparing for the potential issuance of up to 65,000 draft orders for members of the chareidi public who are currently part of the draft-eligible population.
In addition to the order to expand the number of draft notices, Gen. Halevi also instructed that preparations be made to increase the army’s capacity to absorb and integrate chareidi recruits into its ranks.
This move comes at a highly sensitive political moment. Just last night, United Torah Judaism and Shas announced they would withhold their support from coalition legislation in protest of the government’s failure to advance the long-promised draft deferment law for yeshiva students.
During a heated Shas faction meeting, party leader MK Aryeh Deri declared, “We don’t want to topple the government. We’ve been loyal partners—we passed the budget and everything the coalition needed—but it’s unacceptable that our key law is stuck, mostly due to coalition MKs, including from Likud. We have no choice.”
A senior chareidi minister also reportedly stated in a closed discussion, “We need to recalculate. The coalition cannot realistically regulate the yeshiva student status at the same time it is drafting tens of thousands of reservists.”
Political correspondent Yishai Cohen reported that top figures in the chareidi parties said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was neither informed of nor approved the Chief of Staff’s new directive to dramatically expand draft orders.
The IDF is scheduled to brief the Military Advocate General on Wednesday regarding its efforts to draft chareidim.
{Matzav.com Israel}