The Israel Defense Forces’ new Hasmonean Brigade made history on Sunday by becoming the first ultra-Orthodox unit to enter the Gaza Strip, according to Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal.
The unit joins the fight against Hamas amid a fierce debate over exempting Haredi yeshiva students from military service that is threatening Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
The infantry brigade was established after the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ruled on June 24, 2024, that “there is no legal framework that allows for a distinction between yeshivah students and others designated for military service.”
This effectively abolished the previous exemption claimed by Haredi men based on religious observance, which had expired the previous year.
Directly following the ruling, and as of March of this year, the government issued draft notices to more than 10,000 Haredim. Only a few hundred answered the call. Further plans were drawn up to send notices to an additional 14,000.
Despite stiff political and social opposition from within Haredi society, the Hasmonean Brigade, the first all-Haredi combat unit, was opened in January 2025 and drafted approximately 50 recruits and 100 reservists, with long-term plans to enlist up to 4,000.
The brigade was named after the dynasty that began after the Jews threw off the yoke of Hellenistic rule in the Maccabean Revolt (167 BCE to 141 BCE) against the Seleucid Empire.
The brigade requires recruits to follow a strict halachic lifestyle—that is, one in keeping with Jewish law. Observant Jews serve as commanders.
Brigade enlistees were asked to sign a document accepting its rules. One clause states that recruits will at all times maintain a religious way of life, be careful to use “clean” speech, keep beards and sidelocks throughout their service if they entered the army with them and wear Sabbath clothes during Sabbath prayers and meals “as is customary in ultra-Orthodox society (and even a suit and a hat).”
All the courses and training for soldiers in the brigade will be conducted internally to avoid mixing with non-Orthodox units, a nod to a concern among many ultra-Orthodox.
