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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n For the past year, the Haredi leadership has been pushing for the passage of a law that would largely keep its constituency out of the IDF, after the High Court ruled that decades-long blanket exemptions from army duty informally afforded to full-time Haredi yeshiva students were illegal.<\/p>\n Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.<\/p>\n \t The legislation, as currently laid out, would continue to grant military service exemptions to full-time yeshiva students while ostensibly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions.<\/p>\n However, the bill would also remove various provisions from Edelstein\u2019s draft that were intended to ensure that those registered for yeshiva study are actually studying, and cancel all sanctions on draft evaders when they turn 26.<\/p>\n Likud dissent<\/p>\n Addressing the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud MK Dan Illouz reiterated his previously stated objections<\/a> to the bill, arguing that without significant revisions \u201cthe law won\u2019t be good enough, and it won\u2019t bring the change we need in Israel, both from a security and from a social perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd in my opinion, you can\u2019t call this a conscription law if we remove the existing sanctions that encourage enlistment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t call it a conscription law and expand the definition of Haredim to include people who are no longer Haredi, people who are no longer part of the Haredi public.\u201d<\/p>\n For the purposes of the law, Haredim will be defined as those who studied at a Haredi educational institution for at least two years between the ages of 14 and 18. Critics have said this means that people who are no longer members of the ultra-Orthodox community may be counted toward recruitment targets.<\/p>\n \t Fellow Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo declared that in its current form, \u201cthere will not be a majority\u201d in favor of the bill, and \u201cnot in the coalition either.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill will not lead to a significant increase in the scope of recruitment and \u201cmany members of Likud\u201d will not vote \u201cin favor of a bill supported by Arab faction votes,\u201d he added \u2014 referencing reports, denied by Likud<\/a>, that it has sought out the support of the Islamist Ra\u2019am party.<\/p>\n Speaking with The Times of Israel during the committee meeting, Likud MK Tsega Melaku said that while the legislation \u201cisn\u2019t perfect,\u201d it is a \u201cgood start,\u201d and that she believes lawmakers on the committee will \u201cneed to fix it before the final readings.\u201d<\/p>\n Pushing back against the criticism, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs insisted that the bill would \u201crecruit 23,000 Haredi soldiers within three and a half years,\u201d a claim contested by Likud MK Moshe Saada, who has previously called the legislation \u201ctoothless<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Such an increase is impossible to guarantee because the bill does not set a quota for how many recruits will serve in combat roles, Saada argued, demanding that the bill condition state benefits on military service, arguing that a failure to do so will ensure that it does not pass judicial review.<\/p>\n \t Opposition MK Chili Tropper (Blue and White) also pushed back against Fuchs\u2019s claim, saying that because the law allows ten percent of those conscripted as part of its annual recruitment target to serve in non-military roles, and does not specify how many recruits must enter combat tracks, it will likely only boost recruitment by several hundred conscripts at best.<\/p>\n The bill also came under fire from bereaved parents<\/a> during Monday\u2019s committee meeting, with Haggai Luber \u2014 whose son Sgt. Yehonatan Luber was killed in battle in the south of Gaza in December 2023 \u2014 calling on \u201cmembers of the coalition that I voted for\u201d to \u201ccompletely\u201d oppose the law, warning that \u201cwhoever votes in favor, we will hold them politically accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Religious Zionist opposition<\/p>\n The legislation was also harshly criticized by members of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich\u2019s Religious Zionism party, with MK Moshe Solomon telling Bismuth during the hearing that \u201cin its current form, it will be difficult for me to support this law.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments came after MK Michal Woldiger told the national-religious news site Kipa on Sunday that \u201cthe law as it stands will not provide a solution\u201d to the IDF\u2019s manpower shortage.<\/p>\n As debate raged in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer called a press conference to express his own opposition.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThis is a shameful law, devoid of any public courage, a law that struggles to look our ultra-Orthodox partners in the eye and tell them it is time to take action,\u201d he said, declaring that he would \u201cvote against this law, even if it means the prime minister will fire me.\u201d<\/p>\n Pledging to \u201cdo everything I can to persuade my colleagues in Religious Zionism to oppose the proposed disgrace,\u201d Sofer said that his position on conscription was informed by three principles: \u201cfirst, the support and endorsement of the ultra-Orthodox leadership; second, real and immediate change; third, a temporary measure [on exemptions], not an exemption extending decades into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Slamming the government\u2019s \u201cbluff,\u201d Sofer said that the easiest thing to do was \u201cto legislate in a way that gives us time, which won\u2019t be overturned by the Supreme Court\u201d and allow the government to get past the next elections.<\/p>\n Criticizing the fact that the bill would postpone sanctions for a year and a half, Sofer demanded the immediate conscription of four battalions\u2019 worth of soldiers for the IDF\u2019s ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade.<\/p>\n Asked if he would oppose the measure even if its failure would mean the fall of the government, Sofer responded that he has long stated that he would not topple the government but that there are values that \u201cwe go to the grave with.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Asked by The Times of Israel if he believed there is sufficient opposition to the bill within the coalition to ensure its failure, Sofer replied that \u201ccoalition members must face reality\u201d and that \u201cthere are enough votes\u201d to reject it.<\/p>\n While Smotrich has not explicitly stated that he will oppose the bill, following Sofer\u2019s press conference, the party released a statement that its MKs would \u201conly vote on a law that will lead to a real and rapid recruitment of Haredim into the IDF.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are consulting and formulating our comments on the bill, and we will insist on their inclusion as the legislation progresses. In any case, we will make joint decisions and act as a united faction,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n Speaking with The Times of Israel outside Sofer\u2019s press conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (New Hope) said that the bill does not provide the necessary manpower for Israel\u2019s \u201cnext confrontation\u201d with its enemies and that \u201cthere is not a majority in the coalition\u201d in favor of passing it into law.<\/p>\n She later tweeted that she had counted at least 10 definite opponents of the legislation within the coalition.<\/p>\n Haredi opposition<\/p>\n \t While Opposition Leader Yair Lapid<\/a> and former prime minister Naftali Bennett<\/a> both decried the bill on Monday as a betrayal of the troops, the bill also received criticism from the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction of the ultra-Orthodox opposition United Torah Judaism party, which quit the coalition this summer to protest Edelstein\u2019s previous draft of the legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cMany here don\u2019t respect Torah learners. But I am proud to represent them,\u201d said UTJ MK Meir Porush.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what are we hearing here? That the Haredim don\u2019t enlist? Yesterday I approached the Knesset Research and Information Center and found out that there are many Bedouins who don\u2019t enlist. There are Druze who don\u2019t enlist and there are others who don\u2019t enlist. But under the pressure of the attorney general, the law applies only to the Haredim even though there are others who don\u2019t enlist? And this is happening in a country under Jewish rule,\u201d complained Porush.<\/p>\n \u201cAs when [Chaim] Herzog of blessed memory tore up that miserable UN resolution, it would be appropriate to tear up this law,\u201d he said, referring to the then-UN ambassador\u2019s tearing up a resolution equating Zionism with racism at the General Assembly in 1975.<\/p>\n While UTJ\u2019s Degel HaTorah faction and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party have reluctantly supported the bill, Agudat Yisrael has expressed opposition to any legislation containing sanctions against yeshiva students, no matter how weak.<\/p>\n Speaking with The Times of Israel on Sunday evening, a senior Haredi political source who supports the bill explained that from his point of view it is \u201cvery bad, but everyone understands that the current situation is even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \t The coalition currently holds 60 out of 120 seats in the Knesset. Should Agudat Yisrael\u2019s four MKs vote join the rest of the opposition and coalition rebels in opposing the measure, it will likely fail to pass its final two readings in the plenum.<\/p>\n According to Hebrew media reports, Likud\u2019s David Bitan and Religious Zionism\u2019s Ohad Tal are also considered likely opponents of the measure, although they have not stated so publicly. Tal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Should Bismuth amend the bill, it could help mitigate opposition by coalition lawmakers, who Edelstein last week warned<\/a> will be under significant pressure from Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Defying his critics, Bismuth told lawmakers on Monday that \u201cthe bill, including the changes that we will undoubtedly make during the deliberation, will reveal a simple truth \u2014 whoever votes in favor of it, will be voting in favor of the State of Israel\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n However, \u201cwhoever opposes it will prove that he prefers the petty political game at the expense of national security,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/OAM9556-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tLikud MK Yuli Edelstein and Shas MK Yinon Azoulay attend a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, December 1, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/F251019NRF019-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUltra-Orthodox Jews protest against the conscription of yeshiva students in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim, October 19, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/F250930OBH023-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tLikud MK Moshe Saada speaks at a hearing of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, September 30, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_9042_720-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tImmigration Minister Ofir Sofer holds a press conference in the Knesset, December 1, 2025 (Sam Sokol\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/F250806CG45-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tSoldiers from the Hasmonean Brigade take part in a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City on August 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tempImage49zFs4-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUnited Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, December 1, 2025. (Sam Sokol\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/F250812YS38-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tLikud MK Boaz Bismuth chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, August 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n