Two hundred and forty ultra-Orthodox Jewish men enlisted in combat and combat support positions at the start of its September recruitment drive, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.
The enlistments took place on Monday as part of dedicated tracks for ultra-Orthodox men, a program aimed at integrating members of the Haredi community into military service, according to the IDF. One hundred and ninety-eight recruits joined combat units while 42 were placed in combat support roles.
The figures were published amid a massive mobilization of tens of thousands of IDF reservists ahead of a major military offensive in Gaza City, one of the last Hamas strongholds, and as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition faces continued instability over the passage of a draft exemption law for yeshiva students.
As the war against Hamas nears its second year and soldiers commit to multiple tours of duty, the public debate over Haredi men in the army is intensifying.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in July visited the training site of the Hasmonean Brigade in the Jordan Valley, highlighting the ongoing integration of Haredi soldiers into regular military service.
Touring the facility alongside senior military officials, Netanyahu met with soldiers and commanders to discuss the brigade’s unique operations. The Hasmonean Brigade—the IDF’s first fully Haredi unit—is structured to allow its soldiers to serve without compromising their religious way of life.
“They come in as Haredi and they come out as Haredi. We can lead a process—not one of confrontation and infighting, but rather a mobilization of all the forces in Jewish society in order to secure our state, defend our people, and also preserve the world of the Torah,” said Netanyahu.
