While efforts are being made in the security establishment to examine and adjust military service for ultra-Orthodox youth in preparation for sending thousands of conscription orders, there has been a significant increase in the recruitment of Haredi youth for national civil service, according to data presented at Sunday's Cabinet meeting.
According to the figures, since the beginning of the Iron Swords War, twice as many ultra-Orthodox youth have been drafted into national service than in the corresponding period last year. This year, 813 ultra-Orthodox volunteers joined national service compared to 492 last year. A total of 1,538 members of the ultra-Orthodox community serve in security agencies such as the Shin Bet, Mossad, Israel Prison Service, and the Israel Police, as well as in education, management and other positions.
Some 19,000 Israelis were serving in national civil service as of July 2024. Of these, 12,033 are from the general Jewish community, 5,356 are from the Arab and Druze sector and 1,938 are from special populations.
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis are recruited for national civil service
(Photo: Koby Nachsoni)
The presentation discussed the actions that the National Service system took with the outbreak of the war, among them the activation of an emergency regulation in which the Authority's director general has permission to give instructions regarding a change in the way service is performed if he deems it necessary to assist the citizens of the country and its residents. In light of the declaration of a special situation on the home front, the approval of Minister of Settlement and National Missions Orit Strook was given.
The activation of the emergency regulation section 20 made it possible to set specific standards for the needs of the home front in combat, including the needs of the evacuees, shifting national service volunteers to relevant positions to strengthen the home front, including assistance to the evacuees, bereaved families and reservists. In addition, the national needs were mapped in cooperation with the Home Front Command and budgetary allocations were made for evacuees at risk. The director general of the authority pointed out dramatic trends: In the past year, and especially since October 7, hundreds more volunteers joined national service than during the same periods in previous years.
During the cabinet meeting, reference was made to the civil service paths for ultra-Orthodox youth, with an emphasis on positions adapted to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyles, looking at the needs of the state, the needs of the national service volunteer and the needs of the employment market. The CEO stated that there is a need to create national planning on the issue of integrating the ultra-Orthodox into national service frameworks, with the IDF prioritizing civil service, expanding the routes and options to serve, as well as providing legitimacy from both the general public and the ultra-Orthodox public.
"Immediately after the Simchat Torah (October 7)massacre and the outbreak of the war, I instructed to change the activity in the National Civil Service so that our volunteers would give the maximum significant assistance to the war effort," Strook said. "I thank the Authority's CEO Reuven Pinsky for leading this effort in an optimal way, and salute our volunteers for their exemplary commitment. I am convinced that the service frameworks for the ultra-Orthodox public built by us can be used both as a good model and as a basis for receiving thousands of ultra-Orthodox young people who will contribute through them to the state and its security, and we are prepared to expand them as much as is requested."
Director General of the National Service Authority, Reuven Pinsky,said: "Within the war effort, the National Civil Service was constantly involved in helping to strengthen national resilience on the civilian front. The volunteers of the National Civil Service provided an immediate response to the evacuee communities in the hotels, to the bereaved families, to the injured soldiers and civilians, in the security and rescue agencies, in the hospitals, in education and much more. Every 18-year-old man and woman should serve the country, and if they were exempted from military service, they should join the civilian national service. The State of Israel needs us today more than ever."