Representatives of haredi parties agree to Draft Law which would see enlistment of up to 50% of yeshiva students in the coming years, report says.
Israel National News Apr 16, 2024
Haredi near the recruitment officeChaim Goldberg/Flash90
According to the report, the main delay in advancing the law is connected to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has tied his support of the bill to Minister Benny Gantz’s approval of it. Gantz opposes the current draft.
Currently, discussions on the details of the law are under intense discussion. Meanwhile, the haredim have agreed to allow thousands of yeshiva students to enlist, compared to the 1,200 who currently enlist each year.
According to data from haredi sources, over 1,000 young men who are exempted from army service because “their Torah is their occupation” are not in the yeshivas at all.
Many others are registered in yeshivas which haredim refer to as “yeshivas for drop-outs,” attended by yeshiva students who are not capable of learning but who are registered in these yeshivas in order to avoid enlistment. The haredi representatives engaged in discussions on the Draft Law are aware of this.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/haredim-news/revealed-since-october-7-the-idf-rejected-3120-out-of-4000-haredim-asking-to-enlist/2024/06/06/
So if there are so many young haredi men who cannot study torah spending their time lazing around or maybe getting married, they should join Zahal and learn something useful. And then it would be good if a few of their more capable friends were around to lead them.