Draft

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has a duty to warn the government about draft evasion - editorial

Active-duty generals, as a rule, should stay out of politics, but every rule has its exception.

Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir, arrives to attend a wreath laying ceremony at Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem on April 14, 2026 in Jerusalem, Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Knesset vote on a bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, in Jerusalem, July 14, 2026

Knesset votes to freeze arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders amid IDF manpower crisis

A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protester argues with a police officer outside the Jerusalem IDF recruitment center, April 12, 2026.

Almost half of Israelis support tougher sanctions, pressure to promote haredi conscription - poll

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Knesset plenum to vote in favor of Basic: Law Torah Study bill, shaking hands with Degel Hatorah leader MK Moshe Gafni, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Israel's hysterical Torah study bill will backfire on the ultra-Orthodox - opinion


Voting rights and PACs: Solutions for the haredi draft evasion problem - opinion

Our soldiers are exhausted. Over half of our reserve soldiers have logged hundreds of days of military duty. We can’t continue to ask them to shoulder the burden alone.

The Knesset House Committee votes to advance the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties' bill that seeks to enshrine Torah Study in the country's Basic Law. June 30, 2026.

Basic Law: Debasing Torah - opinion

The proposed Basic Law: Torah Study would grant constitutional status to Torah study, but in practice it would turn a sacred obligation into a political and legal instrument. That would harm Torah...

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty study Torah outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem during a silent protest against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with military recruitment orders, July 1, 2026; Illustrative.

Knesset panel advances bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders amid legal warnings

The advancement of a bill to freeze the arrests of draft evaders comes after the contentious Basic Law: Torah Study bill advanced last week in the Knesset’s House Committee.

Knesset panel advances bill to freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, July 12, 2026.

Laundering human capital: The reckless amnesty bills and their debasement of the Torah - opinion

Under the guise of concern for the world of Torah, two bills are on the table: the Basic Law: Torah Study on the one side, and the Law of Exemption from Arrests on the other. 

Haredi anti-draft protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak denouncing the detention of a draft dodger, February 9, 2026.

Likud MK Kallner opposes criminal arrests for haredi draft evaders, backs economic sanctions

Kallner, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told 103FM that he does not think arresting yeshiva students is 'the right way.'

An Israeli soldier guard as young men gathered during a demonstration by Ultra-Orthodox Jews against Israel's military draft on June 17, 2026 outside the Beit Lid military base in Kfar Yona, Israel. The conscription of young ultra-Orthodox men into the military, from which they were long exempt.

WATCH: Haredi protesters block entrance to IDF's Central Command HQ in Jerusalem

The haredim, who were protesting against mandatory conscription for ultra-Orthodox men, were seen blocking part of the gate, screaming at soldiers, and not letting them through.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters demonstrate against the arrest of ultra orthodox jewish men who took part in a protest outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg and were later handed over to the military police, outside the Abu Kabir detention facility, June 10, 2026. Ilustrative.

IDF soldiers to enter reserve duty immediately following mandatory service - report

"It is illogical and unreasonable in a democratic country to bring in reserve soldiers for another hundred days of reserve duty this year, already in the third year," a senior IDF official told N12.

IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon, published April 13, 2026; illustrative.

Knesset passes in first reading bill to enshrine Torah study into Basic Law

The wording in the proposal emphasizes Torah study as “a fundamental value in the heritage of the Jewish people and in the State of Israel.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty study Torah outside the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem during a silent protest against the imprisonment of yeshiva students who failed to comply with military recruitment orders, July 1, 2026; Illustrative.

Former haredim overlooked in draft debate, underrepresented in workforce, report finds

Among men aged 20 to 29 from haredi homes who reported past IDF service, 71% no longer identified as haredi when surveyed, according to the organization Out for Change.

A haredi (ultra-Orthodox) protester argues with a police officer outside the Jerusalem IDF recruitment center, April 12, 2026.

Ultra-Orthodox party paralyzes Knesset votes to force through military draft exemptions

The most recent proposal advanced is a bill that would halt the arrests of haredi draft evaders, which is set to be debated on Tuesday in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Protesters supporting the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the Israeli military block a road in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, in protest against the continued road blockades by ultra-Orthodox demonstrators following the arrest of draft evaders, June 26, 2026.