The IDF announced on Thursday the launch of its new Haredi combat brigade, "Hashmonaim," named after the Hasmonean dynasty who led the Maccabean Revolt over 2,000 years ago, with recruitment symbolically timed to coincide with Hanukkah.
Initial enlistment will include 30 conscripts who have completed pre-draft assessments, with dozens more expressing interest. The brigade aims to establish one combat company of 60-80 soldiers and a reserve unit of Haredi recruits undergoing extended combat training.
Unlike previous initiatives, recruitment is focused on voluntary enlistment through dialogue with yeshiva leaders and Haredi community rabbis rather than through the 7,000 draft orders recently authorized.
The IDF hopes to build trust by demonstrating sensitivity to Haredi needs, including adherence to a strict religious lifestyle and halachic practices.
Recruits must commit to the brigade’s regulations, including maintaining a Haredi lifestyle, modest speech and using filtered cell phones. They will be required to wear traditional Shabbat attire, such as suits and hats, during prayers and meals. Any violation of the rules will result in dismissal to standard service without special accommodations.
Extremist Haredim being evacuated from major highway during demonstration against recruitment
(Video: Yariv Katz, Dan Raban)
Training and courses will be conducted entirely within the brigade to prevent integration with non-Haredi units, addressing previous concerns about breaches of religious standards in existing frameworks.
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Col. Avinoam Emunah, commander of the Hashmonaim Brigade, called the initiative historic. “I have the privilege of commanding the ultra-Orthodox brigade and being part of this extraordinary project that has the potential to bring meaningful change to Israeli society and the Jewish people as a whole," he said in a recorded message.
"For the first time since the founding of the IDF and the establishment of the state, we’ve created a brigade that allows the ultra-Orthodox community to enlist, fight and serve while preserving their way of life and their identity. I invite you—those who feel the calling to defend their land, their people and their country—to join us and take part in something historic, something unprecedented. Be part of the beginning of this blessing.”