IOF intend to dissolve two Haredi contingents
3 Min Read
Israeli media report that the IOF plan to shut down two military companies designated for Haredi Jews due to declining recruitment numbers.
-
IOF soldiers of the Givati Brigade fast asleep near "Ketziot" base on June 23, 2011 (AFP)
According to reports by Israeli media, the Israeli occupation military is planning to dissolve two military contingents, which are allocated for Orthodox Jewish soldiers, known as Haredi, due to the decline in recruitment numbers and high desertion rates.
The IOF Army Radio reported on Monday that the Haredi company called Tomer in the Givati ​​Brigade is set to be dissolved, as there has been a significant decrease in the number of recruits from the Haredi community.
The radio report highlighted that the Tomer company now mainly comprises those of religious nationalist inclinations and not the Haredis.
Citing statistics from the latest military recruitment, the report noted that only 25 Haredi settlers joined the Tomer company, which operates in the occupied West Bank, falling significantly short of the previously set recruitment target by the occupation army. The report also revealed a high dropout rate among ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Tomer company, established in 2014.
The dissolving of the Tomer company is seen as a major setback to the Israeli occupation army's efforts to recruit Haredi settlers for military service.
The occupation army is also deliberating on the possibility of dissolving the Hets company in the Paratroopers Brigade, which is designated for Haredi soldiers, citing similar reasons related to recruitment goals not being met.
The issue of Haredi recruitment has been a contentious topic in "Israel", amid calls that the Haredim should participate in military or civil service instead of enjoying near-complete exemption in accommodation of their religious studies.
The Times of "Israel" reported that over 50% of eligible young Haredi men reaching the age of 18 do not enlist in the IOF, with most of them studying in religious schools during the conscription age.
Haredi Jews, on the other hand, reject these claims and argue that religious education serves as spiritual protection for "Israel".
Read more: Palestinian boy killed by IOF sniper was unarmed, CCTV footage shows
It was reported back in February that most of the religious strata of Israeli society reject recruitment into the Israeli occupation army.
It is estimated that there are about 50,000 Haredi young adults in occupied Palestine who are eligible for military recruitment in the Israeli occupation army. However, only 1,200 have signed up as of 2019 statistics.
As per Israeli policy, Israeli settlers are forced into military conscription, meaning that they must serve in the occupation army - or else will serve time in jail. However, the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community typically does not have to and has always criticized the policy. Attempts to integrate them into the IOF, several times, have ended in failure.
Read more: Corrupt organizational culture infiltrates Israeli occupation army
