Haredi men must be drafted. What now? - opinion

On June 25, 2024, in a historic landmark decision, nine High Court Justices ruled unanimously that the State of Israel must act to enforce conscription legislation (the Security Service Law) and apply it to ultra-Orthodox men.

The potential for transformation in Israel in general and in the Israeli military specifically cannot be understated. We now have the opportunity to significantly reduce the extent and length of regular and reserve service performed by those who have, alone, shouldered the burden until now; to make use of the talents of conscripts from haredi society for the benefit of Israel’s security; to promote social solidarity at a time of polarization and division; and to promote the integration of haredi society into the labor market, allowing many of its members to escape poverty.

There is no doubt that, for this reality to come to fruition, much of the responsibility lies with the haredi community and its leaders. Nevertheless, the IDF and the defense establishment also need to make significant changes to update their operating system, so to speak, in order to fully recognize the true importance of this moment, and to prepare an immediate response, based on the understanding that they must adopt new approaches and tools. 

To seize this historical opportunity, we believe that the IDF should take into consideration the following issues.

Among the total population of haredi men eligible for draft, who should be drafted in the immediate term? During the current conscription year cycle (June 2024-May 2025), some 75,000 haredi men will now be mandated to serve in the military. It is clear that it will not be possible to recruit them all at once. The Supreme Court did not discuss the details of how mandatory service should be enforced, but its ruling offers important direction in this regard.

On the one hand, the justices acknowledged that drafting yeshiva students will require significant preparation by the IDF. At the same time, the ruling also emphasized that the IDF needs to exercise its powers in a way that upholds the principle of equality and gives proper consideration to the “current security needs of the military and the defense establishment.”

This means that the IDF is now the competent authority to decide who must be drafted from this population, and that it should do so according to relevant military needs, as is done with all other population groups. This addresses the individual obligation of each individual men from the haredi community to serve – unlike the collective conscription method of drafting haredim set in the legislation in the past. 

In the wake of the ruling, tens of thousands of haredim are now required to report for duty at the IDF’s Reception and Sorting Base (BAKUM). It is crucial that the IDF now exercise its powers and identify which candidates are needed for immediate conscription, based on its professional considerations and the security threats it faces.

How many haredi men does the IDF need to draft? In the absence of legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service, the IDF must make preparations for as extensive conscription as possible. The defense establishment made a commitment to the Court to draft 4,800 yeshiva students within the current conscription year.

That is 3,000 yeshiva students in addition to the average number of ultra-Orthodox conscripted in recent years, which the IDF estimates at around 1,800 a year (though according to data collected over the years in accordance with the legal definition of “Who is a Haredi,” the figure is around 1,200). Despite this, it would be a mistake to view 4,800 haredi soldiers as the target number. Rather, this is the bare minimum, as the conscription should be much more extensive.

Kinks to be worked out

As the Attorney General of Israel made clear following the publication of the ruling: “This is an initial number for immediate conscription, which does not fully reflect the current needs of the military and the promotion of equality in the burden of service and the defense establishment must act to present a conscription plan that includes an increase of this number.” 

It is to be hoped that the IDF will display ambition and determination in this regard. The challenge is considerable, but the opportunity is equally great.

What will the “people’s army” look like, when an additional and important section of the people joins it, and how will we ensure that everyone feels that they belong to it? The State of Israel has, since its inception, operated under the model of a “people’s army,” according to which men and women from diverse population groups serve alongside one another, thus uniting Israel’s multi-faceted society. Now that haredi men must serve in the military, the IDF needs to quickly formulate an updated concrete vision for the “people’s army” model. 

This vision needs to be comprehensive and ambitious, embodying a pathway for haredi soldiers’ integration from the stage of the potential draftees’ fitness assessments, through their entire service as soldiers, to preparing them for their return to civilian life. For example, in order to ensure that the IDF utilizes the potential and eases the integration of new Haredi conscripts, the IDF can look to the findings of the Shkedi Committee, which Defense Minister Yoav Gallant established to prepare for the effective integration of haredim into the IDF. 

The Committee recently submitted its recommendations, proposing the development of specially adapted admission and evaluation tools and setting up a conscription base that is tailored to the needs of this population. Similarly, in order to help haredi servicemen to maintain their way of life, the IDF had previously developed special service tracks that better adapt to their desire to preserve their beliefs and customs. However, it is also important to respect the right of each haredi servicemen to choose to serve in these specific ones, or in the other military service tracks.

Alongside such preparations, there is also an opportunity to update the vision for the “people’s army” model such that it also respects and suits the worldviews of other populations serving in the military. 

It is important to ensure that, when striving to realize the value of equality as it relates to conscription to the military, we do not find ourselves violating the principle of equality among the different groups in the military during their service – women and men, Jews and non-Jews, religious, traditional, and secular – those with liberal worldviews and those with traditional outlooks, and so on. The challenge is enormous, but we must rise to it. 

The time is now.

In the life of a nation, there are few opportunities to effect historic change, such as the one currently facing the IDF – indeed, facing us all. We must not pass it up. The IDF must remain focused on its mission and stubbornly pursue its goals, and we must support it.

Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer is the director of the Center for Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute; Adv. Mirit Lavi is a researcher at the center.