FALCON POWERS – On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the army needs 10,000 additional soldiers immediately, noting the possibility of absorbing 3,000 recruits from the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community.
Gallant, during discussions in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, outlined the plans for recruiting the ultra-Orthodox Jews. He stated that “currently the Israeli army can absorb 3,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews, for whom a special administration will be established, and another 3,000 next year.”
Gallant confirmed that an agreement was reached during the negotiations with the ultra-Orthodox to increase this number by 5% each year, until reaching 50% within 5 years.
The Haredim are a group of religious Jews who strictly observe religious rituals and live their daily lives according to the precise details of Jewish law. They have managed to avoid conscription into the Israeli army for decades by enrolling in religious seminaries.
Calls have recently been growing in Israel to conscript the Haredim during the Israeli war on Gaza, as the Haredi community continues to organize protests against conscription.
However, after a Supreme Court ruling that the government must conscript them, the Israeli army will soon begin sending conscription orders to around 63,000 students from religious schools, who are eligible for military service, although the mechanism remains unclear.
