80% of reservists and their families say haredi draft exemption would hurt national motivation

Some 64% of reservists and immediate family members of reservists say the burden on them is heavy, with 58% saying a law excusing haredim (ultra-Orthodox) from the IDF draft would hurt their motivation to serve, an October poll commissioned by NGO Israel Hofsheet found.

Some 506 people participated in the poll, 258 of whom have served in the reserves and 248 of whom are first-degree relatives of those who have been serving since the start of the Israel-Hamas War.

The survey was conducted by polling group Hamadad (the index) at the request of Israel Hofsheet, a nonpartisan organization seeking to change policy and legislation on issues of religion and state.

The organization works to “promote religious freedom and strengthen democracy,” it said on its website.

Some 64% of respondents described the burden of reserves as “heavy” or “very heavy” in October, compared to 66% in August and 54% in June, the poll said.

Burden on reserves is a familial, mental burden

Expanding on what makes reserve duty a burden for them, 41% of respondents said the difficulty is due to personal and family reasons, while 21% said it was a mental difficulty.

Nearly 80% said they believe that a law that would exempt haredim from the draft would hurt national motivation to serve in the IDF, and 66% supported increasing pressure and sanctions to increase a haredi draft.

Among those who voted for coalition parties who are reservists or first-degree family members, 50% supported economic sanctions or punishment for those who do not serve.

Some 59% of respondents said the IDF should act to draft haredim more quickly, which is up 10% from responses to the poll in August.

Just over half (51%) of respondents said the IDF is not “doing its best” to draft haredim.

The proportion of reservists and immediate family members of reservists saying a bill that exempts haredim from the draft would "substantially" hurt their motivation to serve in reserves and regular service has increased since May.

This proportion has steadily gone up since May, when it stood at 19%, and October, when it stood at 33%.

Asked who in the coalition they trust most to advance a “worthy arrangement for the issue of drafting yeshiva students,” the most popular response was “no one.”

Some 31% of respondents said they didn’t trust anyone, and 23% said they trusted former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The third most popular response to this question was “I don’t know,” with 15% of respondents picking this option.