Haredi Yeshiva Students Are Being Called to IDF Enlistment Centers. What’s Next?

On Monday August 5, 2024 and Tuesday August 6, 2024—900 ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students were required to present themselves at IDF enlistment centers. According to IDF reports, only 5%, or 48 presented themselves. Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, Dr. Eran Shamir-Borer and Mirit Lavi explain the next steps the IDF will need to take in order to enforce the legal obligation of conscription.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against military conscription. Photo by: Erik Marmor/Flash90

So, what is happening today?

On Monday August 5, 2024 and Tuesday August 6, 2024—900 Haredi yeshiva students were required to present themselves at IDF enlistment centers, having received an individual notice to this effect two weeks ago (on July 21), for the purpose of “completing first draft notice (tzav rishon) procedures.” According to IDF reports, only 5%, or 48 presented themselves.

Why have these yeshiva students been summoned to enlistment centers?

According to the Military Service Law and its ensuing regulations, potential draftees must attend an IDF enlistment center in order to register and report their personal details, undergo medical tests and assessments of suitability for different roles, receive vaccinations, and submit identification particulars (fingerprints and dental imaging). This requirement can be initiated by an individual notice issued to a particular draftee, bearing their name and identity number, or by a general notice (issued by IDF officers appointed by the minister of defense) summoning all those born between certain dates. The obligation to attend an enlistment center also applies to repeat summons issued over time and to repeated tests and assessments, as required.

The young Haredim called to present themselves at the enlistment centers have not undergone the usual medical checks or psychotechnical assessments for the military, have not participated in the usual testing days, and have not received the standard questionnaire about their service preferences, enabling them to indicate the areas of military service they are interested in. Neither have they participated in selection procedures for elite combat units. Most have only attended enlistment centers in order to apply for a deferment of service. Thus, the summons to present themselves this week is for the purpose of completing the necessary tests for processes of identification, selection, and assignment to military roles. The IDF put in place special arrangements for the intake of Haredi draftees, including sending out the notices by regular mail and via texts suitable to “kosher” Haredi mobile phones, using only male staff for the intake teams dealing with Haredi yeshiva students, and adapting its communications and public information efforts and language to this population.

“Torah study is their vocation” – what is the previous legal framework for their exemption?

Until recently, Haredi yeshiva students benefited from an arrangement known as “Torah study is their vocation” (“Torato Omanuto”), which allowed anyone studying full-time in a Haredi yeshiva not to serve in the military. These students were, under this status, summoned to enlistment centers, but not for the purposes of undergoing testing and registration; rather, they would receive an annual “service deferment,” which would become a full exemption from military service at age 26. Those young Haredim who did enlist did so voluntarily (in recent years, only around 9% of the graduates of Haredi educational institutions have enlisted voluntarily, and of these, around 70% no longer defined themselves as Haredim at the time of their enlistment).

This situation changed with the expiration of the exemption section of the Military Service Law, at the end of June 2023. Since then, as the High Court of Justice recently ruled, there is no legal basis for differentiating between yeshiva students and other Jewish Israelis of the same age when it comes to conscription, and the IDF is now obligated to issue first draft notices to young Haredim too.

How many notices has the IDF issued?

So far, 900 first notices have been sent, out of 3,000 that the IDF announced it was intending to issue in the next two or three months. In addition, the IDF has published various public information materials and arranged informational events, with the aim of encouraging additional young Haredim to enlist voluntarily. At the end of this period, it will have to assess whether it is successfully enlisting sufficient numbers of Haredim in this way, or whether it needs to greatly increase the number of notices issued in order to meet the target it has set for itself—4,800 new Haredi soldiers in the 2024 conscription year (from July 2024 to June 2025). It should be noted that the High Court of Justice ruling specified that this was merely an initial conscription target, and that the defense establishment had committed to raising this target within this first year.

Why were notices not sent to all the 77,000 Haredim subject to conscription?

The target of 4,800 is the number of Haredi soldiers that the IDF can immediately integrate into its ranks, according to its own assessment (comprising an additional 3,000 soldiers beyond the 1,800 who enlist each year according to IDF statistics). It is these that it has begun to call up. This figure represents just 6% of the approximately 77,000 Haredi yeshiva students subject to conscription (potential draftees), including some 63,000 yeshiva students of varying ages who no longer have valid service deferments or exemptions since the expiration of the exemption section of the law. There are also some 14,000 students in the age cohort that has just graduated from lower yeshivot and have reached the age of 18, or will do so in the coming months.

The IDF has been criticized for not issuing first draft notices to all Haredi potential draftees, even if it intends to enlist them gradually. According to the High Court of Justice ruling of June 25, 2024, the IDF is obligated to apply its powers regarding conscription in accordance with the principle of equality, as well as in accordance with the security challenges and personnel requirements it faces and with the rules of administrative law.

Why now?

The tragic events of October 7 and the ensuing conflict have dramatically increased the burden of national defense, and the population groups that until now have borne this burden can no longer do so alone. Furthermore, as noted, the section of the Military Service Law that afforded exemptions to yeshiva students expired in June 2023, since when the requirement to serve has applied equally to all.

The military's need for additional operational personnel is very great, and according to estimates currently stands at between 10,000 and 20,000 combat soldiers and combat support staff. Consequently, the IDF has been calling up reservists for extended service periods of many months; is seeking to extend the periods of regular and reserve service required by law; is implementing early enlistment of draftees currently in the middle of national service years, pre-military academy programs, and studies in hesder national-Zionist yeshivot; and is restoring to its ranks soldiers who were released from reserve duty some time ago.

Thus, the IDF cannot make do with the initial number of 4,800 soldiers, and it must make a major effort to increase its intake capacity within the coming conscription year (just as it declared to the Court that it intended to), and certainly within the following year. (The IDF’s statement that in the 2025 conscription year it will also aim to draft 4,800 Haredim does not tally with its commitment to the Court.) If the IDF were to immediately issue draft notices to the entire population of Haredi draftees, this would constitute a more appropriate response to the dual challenges of defense and equality.

How has the IDF chosen those to whom it is sending notices?

The IDF announced that it intends to draft 3,000 Haredi soldiers between the ages of 18 and 25, according to the following distribution:

• 50% will be aged 18–21 (representing around 4% of this age group, including the new conscription cohort of 18-year-olds)
• 40% aged 22–23 (around 5% of this age group)
• 10% aged 24–25 (around 3% of this age group)
• 15% will be married

The conscription of the younger age groups is particularly important, as only these can meet the IDF’s need for combat soldiers who serve far from home, without inflicting heavy expenses on the IDF in terms of expensive family payments. On average, Haredi men marry at the age of 23 and become parents at 24, and thus it is important to draft those who have not yet reached these ages.

The IDF also announced that it intends to issue notices to those yeshiva students who have been working in reported employment over a considerable period, or who have traveled abroad during their yeshiva studies, and have missed at least two attendance checks by the Ministry of Education at their yeshiva. The IDF assumes that it will be easier to enlist these groups because they have allegedly demonstrated a lower level of commitment to their studies, by contravening the conditions of the “Torah study is their vocation” arrangement, which only allowed married students over the age of 22 to work, and even then, only after study hours (for more information, see this article by Gabriel Gordon).

This approach contradicts the ruling by the High Court of Justice, according to which the IDF must apply its judgement in this matter “in a way that upholds the principle of equality,” and “selective enforcement is unacceptable… [and] constitutes severe harm to the rule of law.” Furthermore, “the seriousness of selective enforcement is only heightened in the case of enforcing the obligation of enlistment vis-à-vis individuals—an obligation that means a significant restriction of the individual’s fundamental rights, and that can require them to endanger life and limb in defense of the security of the state.” The deputy attorney general, Dr. Gil Limon, sent a letter along these lines to the Ministry of Defense. He also demanded that the defense establishment carry out headquarters work over the coming weeks to establish updated criteria for the conscription of yeshiva students for the rest of the conscription year, also taking into consideration (among other things) the principle of equality within the group of yeshiva students subject to conscription.

What is the status of the tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox who have not received notices?

In fact, these young Haredim are all also legally required to present themselves immediately at IDF enlistment centers for registration, testing, and conscription, despite not having received individual first draft notices. This is due to section 38 of the Military Service Law, which states that anyone who has received a service deferment and was not called to present themselves at another time, must do so immediately after the end of the period of deferment. This includes even those yeshiva students who received deferments during June 2023, immediately prior to the expiration of the law. Therefore, the legal situation is that any yeshiva student whose deferment has ended should have already presented themselves at an enlistment center, and if they have not done so, then they are breaking the law.

The exceptions to this rule are the members of the new age cohort who graduated from lower yeshivot (equivalent to high school) who were unable to request deferments, and thus did not receive them. In their case, seeing as no general draft notice applies to them, and until such a notice is issued, it would appear that they are under no obligation to attend an enlistment center.

Will the ultra-Orthodox actually present themselves at enlistment centers?

Young ultra-Orthodox face a difficult dilemma. On the one hand, they are legally obligated to enlist, and thus to present themselves at enlistment centers just like all other young Jewish Israelis. On the other hand, their own community leaders are calling on them to defy the notices and not to present themselves. If they do not attend, they will be breaking the law, and will be subject to various administrative and judicial steps that can be taken against those who fail to show for registration and testing. In addition, since April 2024 state funding to yeshivot has been ended with regard to students who no longer have service deferments or exemptions, and these students may also face additional economic penalites. At the same time, if they do present themselves for enlistment, they are liable to suffer censure from their community, damage their family’s status and their own marriage prospects, and be subjected to demonstrations and street posters (“pashkavilim”) targeting them personally.

The scale of this dilemma is dependent on their own religious choices, and on the particular community to which they belong and the institutions from which they graduated. There are some young Haredim who, despite being registered at a yeshiva, are no longer fully Haredi in their choices and way of life, and these may be more likely to show up at enlistment centers. Similarly, those who belong to the more modern groups in Haredi society are likely to opt for a combination of yeshiva study and military service, as are young Haredim whose fathers served in the military.

Only a small percent of the young Haredim called up actually reported to enlistment centers, which will force the IDF to issue many more notices than the actual number of enlistees it expects.

What will happen if they don’t present themselves?

According to the policies of the IDF Personnel Directorate on this subject, a potential draftee who does not present themselves for initial registration or for a particular test will be sent another call, and if they fail to do so again, will receive a warning and a new date. If they do not show up for the third appointment, then the IDF has several options available, to be pursued either sequentially or in parallel. It should be noted that since the Haredi draftees already began the “first draft notice” process when deferring their service, it may be possible to institute a speedier procedure in their case.

The enforcement means presented below relate only to failure to present for testing and registration. Those who refuse to actually be drafted are subject to different enforcement rules and means.

1. Arrest and forcible removal to an enlistment center. An arrest warrant can be issued and the draftee arrested for 48 hours, during which time they are either brought to an enlistment center or released on bail subject to a commitment to present themselves. Fleeing or failing to honor this commitment will lead to an additional arrest warrant without the possibility of release on bail. The policy of the IDF’s Meitav Unit, responsible for the draft process, regarding “the treatment of draftees who do not present themselves for procedures” states that four attempts should be made to contact draftees before an arrest warrant is issued, including by telephone.
2. Issuing a conscription notice for regular military service without registration and testing. The IDF has the option of drafting into regular service a draftee who has not showed up for registration and testing after being called several times, skipping over the selection and intake procedures at the IDF Induction Center. This is in accordance with sections 12 and 13 of the Military Service Law, subject to the approval of the head of the Meitav Unit and on condition that efforts have been made to contact the draftee by telephone, via relatives, via house visits, and through public databases such as that of the National Insurance Institute. This step can be carried out 30 days after an arrest warrant has been issued.
3. Declaring the draftee to be a “fugitive offender.” The commander of the enlistment center can ask the police to declare the draftee a “fugitive offender,” thus stripping them of eligibility for a passport from the Ministry of the Interior. This is not currently an accepted practice.
4. Preventing the draftee from exiting the country. Section 43 of the Military Service Law restricts any draftees from leaving Israel without permission from the minister of defense or their representatives. In practice, the Ministry of Defense does not enforce this restriction as long as the draftee is not abroad on a date when they are required to attend an enlistment center. However, when it comes to “incommunicado” draftees who do not respond to draft notices, then “Policy 16” is activated (“Border Control—Registration and Treatment of IDF Inclusions”), in which a list of draft evaders and non-respondents is updated every week in the registration systems of Israel’s border crossings, and these individuals will be refused exit from the country. Border control officers have the power to transfer such draftees to the military police for detainment. In some cases, the IDF may allow such individuals to travel abroad for a limited period, on condition that they sign the required documentation.
5. Trying the draftee on criminal charges in a civilian court. Section 46 of the Military Service Law allows for the civilian trial of an individual who has not fulfilled their obligations as prescribed in this law, including presentation for registration and testing. The stated punishment for this offense is two years’ imprisonment, rising to five years if there is clear intent to evade military service altogether. In practice, this course of action is not pursued, but it does exist in law and could presumably be used in the future.

In the case of ultra-Orthodox, is it possible to use means that are not currently used against others who attempt to evade the draft?

The enforcement policy should be applied equally. At the same time, dramatic changes in circumstances may result in changes in the enforcement policy toward all potential draftees, based on the understanding that the old policy is no longer serving its purpose in upholding the law. For example, there is certainly justification for a difference in enforcement between a situation in which there are just tens or hundreds of potential draftees who do not present themselves after a third summons, and one in which there are tens of thousands of such cases. It is therefore justified to take more severe enforcement steps today, when the number of those not fulfilling their obligation has risen steeply.

Moreover, evasion of service during a war is more serious than in normal times, as the military courts recently ruled: “The offense of absence from military service takes on a different hue against the backdrop of war.” Regarding certain types of evasion of service (desertion from the IDF Induction Center, regular service, or reserve duty), a policy has been introduced during the current war to the effect that the trial and punishment of absentees should be adapted to the current circumstances.

Until now, though the IDF has viewed the enlistment of Haredim as a “national mission,” it has sometimes pursued this mission with great enthusiasm while at other times neglecting it almost entirely. Now, it must begin treating young Haredim subject to conscription not as a one-off mission outside its main areas of concern, but as an integral part of its personnel. No longer should there be Haredi companies that are additional, irregular companies within a brigade, and Haredi brigades that are additional, irregular brigades within a division, as was the case until now. Instead, Haredi soldiers should be a significant and central component of the IDF’s structure of forces, and this should be properly planned and prepared.

The IDF cannot make do with the initial number of 4,800 Haredi soldiers, and must make every effort to increase its intake capacity within the 2024 conscription year. If it were to immediately issue draft notices to all those subject to conscription, this would constitute a more appropriate response to the dual challenges of defense and equality. As is the case with other population groups, all young Haredi males should be called to undergo selection and intake procedures as they approach draft age, and appropriate service tracks should be made available that will allow them to maintain their Haredi way of life while also serving their people and their country.