Israeli Army Radio reported that preliminary data on the Haredi recruitment process indicates that less than 4% of the 3,000 recruitment orders issued to Haredi youth since last July have resulted in individuals joining the military service.

Commenting on the recruitment of Haredim, Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the Israel Beiteinu party, criticized the government for its handling of the situation. He highlighted the opposition of Haredi factions to the recruitment law and their failure to comply with it. Lieberman asserted that "the army is violating the law" and emphasized that "Gallant must ensure that the law is applied to everyone."

"The government has extended regular service by four months and reserve service by a year," Lieberman told the Israeli website Ynet. He added, "No more quotas, targets, and exemptions—one people, one conscription," emphasizing that "the entire system of quotas must come to an end."

He added that he expects both the Chief of Staff and the head of the "Anti-Corruption Authority" to adhere to the law, stating, "The vast majority of Likud voters and religious Zionists support a single conscription law for all. We have never known how to move forward and make a decision—that's the essence of the matter."

In contrast, Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told Yedioth Ahronoth, "I have not changed my position. I stated from the beginning that either a conscription law is passed, or nothing is passed. I am engaging with both the IDF and the Haredim."

He added that the army needs to address the gaps in numbers: "it is demanding 10,000 soldiers but is willing to accept only 3,000."

Haredim to Netanyahu: We will not pass the government budget before passing the draft exemption law

Related News

Lapid calls for penalties against Haredim refusing military service

Israel Katz approves 7,000 Haredi draft orders, sparks outrage

Haredi parties have threatened to block the passage of regular legislation, including the general budget until a law exempting Haredim from military service is enacted. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that this could lead to a new crisis for the government.

The Haredi parties declared that no legislation unrelated to wartime issues would be advanced until the conscription law was enacted and the budget for housing religious students was finalized. Israeli media reported that Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supported the Haredi stance, stating, “Against coercion, for military service.”

This comes in the wake of today's meeting of the Israeli government, during which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made it clear that the budget must be approved on time, in accordance with the budget principles that have already been agreed upon.

'Israel' plans to draft 3,000 Haredim

Earlier this year, the IOF published a draft order on July 9 for the recruitment of 3,000 Haredim.

Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom detailed that half of these recruits will be aged between 18 and 21, while 40% will be aged between 21 and 24, and the remaining 10% aged between 24 and 26.

In late June, the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously voted for the conscription of Haredi Jews into the military, and the halt of all subsidies and funds allocated for institutions that do not comply with the ruling, affirming that "the state has no authority to exempt them."

The court ruled the regime was carrying out "invalid selective enforcement, which represents a serious violation of the rule of law, and the principle according to which all individuals are equal before the law … In the midst of a grueling war, the burden of inequality is harsher than ever and demands a solution."

Due to the need for more manpower, the war cabinet discussed extending military service in the Israeli army to 3 years, as reported by the Israeli broadcaster Kan.

Read next: Boiling pot: 'Israel's' ideological discord