On Sunday, a wave of initial draft notices started reaching ultra-Orthodox young men, summoning them to report to recruitment offices for their first call-up following the historic ruling from the Supreme Court. The IDF's ambitious goal is to enlist 4,800 Haredi recruits by the end of the year. The first batch of notices, sent via text messages from recruitment offices, targets 1,000 young men out of approximately 66,000 eligible conscripts within the ultra-Orthodox community.
"Receiving the draft notice was surprising," says a 23-year-old yeshiva student. Fully immersed in the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, he nonetheless owns a smartphone and has a driver's license. Additionally, he works a few hours a day alongside his yeshiva studies, which likely flagged him for early conscription.
"I didn’t expect this," he admits. "I feel confused and worried. Torah study is the center of my life, and I don’t see myself leaving the yeshiva anytime soon, certainly not for something as unexpected as IDF enlistment." He plans to consult with his rabbis and family members about whether to report for the initial call-up at the recruitment office.
The yeshiva student is puzzled as to why he was among the first to receive a notice. He criticized ultra-Orthodox Knesset members, arguing they aren’t doing enough for yeshiva students. "I don’t understand what our representatives in the Knesset are doing within a government that is drafting yeshiva students," he said. "Even during the Bennett-Lapid government, there weren’t such decrees on Torah students. I hope they act swiftly to find a solution that allows us to continue our yeshiva studies. This is a significant responsibility on their shoulders; they are our emissaries, elected to protect our core values, not to sit in committees and offices without addressing the heart of ultra-Orthodox concerns."
Another young man, a 20-year-old studying in a yeshiva for dropouts, also received a notice via text message on Sunday. Despite not strictly adhering to Orthodox norms, he too was taken aback by the draft notice. "Honestly, the notice really surprised me," he said. "I was even a bit anxious at first. This is not something I had planned at this stage of my life."
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Haredi boys at IDF conscription center await exemption from military service
(Photo: Shmulik Davidpur)
Dressed in jeans and a designer shirt, he added that he might consider enlisting in the IDF under certain conditions. "If the army suited my lifestyle, it might be an option," he admitted, "but at this stage, it’s not a fit."
The young man believes he will report for the initial call-up at the recruitment office, but he says the path to IDF service is still very far off. "I’m not in yeshiva all day, that’s true, but the rabbis' instructions and the letters that have been published do bind me as an ultra-Orthodox person, even without studying Torah all day," he said. "So for now, it’s distant for me, but it’s not out of the question that if there were a suitable track for the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle with considerations for my needs, I would enlist."