Former PM Bennett accuses Netanyahu government of preventing victory in Gaza by not drafting ultra-Orthodox

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu of preventing a victory over Hamas in Gaza due to political interests. 

“A cowardly government that prevents the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox members prevents victory over Hamas,” Bennett posted on 𝕏 late on Saturday. 

Echoing a criticism that has come from IDF leadership and reservist soldiers, Bennett stated that a shortage of manpower is partly responsible for the lack of progress in Gaza.

“The shuffling in Gaza stems directly from government policy that deprives the IDF of the main tool required for victory – fighters,” Bennett continued. 

He contrasted the demands for the conquest of Gaza from Israeli leaders like National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich with their lack of military service, saying that, “those same ministers are literally depriving the IDF of the soldiers needed to carry out the same mission.” 

“For the past year and a half, the IDF has been stretched beyond the limit,” Bennett claimed, highlighting the IDF’s operations at “the Lebanese border, the Syrian border, the Jordan Valley, Judea and Samaria, the Sinai border, the Gaza border, and Gaza itself.” 

“We have never needed so many borders and soldiers,” the former prime minister wrote, noting that “at this moment, the IDF is short 20,000 soldiers.” 

Bennett also called attention to the repeated use of “Order 8” (Tzav Shmoneh in Hebrew) allowing for the emergency recruitment of reservists in a situation like the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. 

“Order 8 is not intended for ongoing security and patrols in the Jordan Valley or securing settlements,” Bennett commented. “It is not intended to be operated for years as an alternative to a real solution.” 

According to Bennett, the solution is to implement a draft of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) male population, as ordered by the Supreme Court last summer, following the expiration of a temporary exemption.

Blaming Netanyahu and Smotrich for putting “politics above the good of the country,” Bennett said, “they are wearing down the reservists with ongoing security missions, and now that they want to conquer Gaza, they no longer have the soldiers for it!” 

He accused the coalition ministers of being afraid to confront Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf of the United Torah Judaism party, and Aryeh Deri, the head of the Shas party. Both leaders have sought to secure further exemptions from the draft for ultra-Orthodox men, while also demanding stipends for them to study in yeshivas (traditional religious Jewish studies).

“Hundreds of thousands of families fear the most terrible knock on the door, while an entire sector sleeps soundly,” accused Bennett. 

According to The Times of Israel, around 70,000 ultra-Orthodox men are eligible for the military draft, but do not serve. Since the High Court ruling last summer, the IDF has only distributed about 19,000 draft notices to eligible Haredi men, while only 232 have responded. 

Lt.-Col. Avigdor Dickstein, head of the Haredi branch of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday that the IDF is far short of its goals for drafting Haredi soldiers. 

“We set ourselves a target of 4,800, and we will not reach that. There is an upward trend here, but it is not sufficient and does not correspond to the very large operational need,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the coalition government is preparing to pass a bill, commonly known as the Ultra-Orthodox Draft bill, which would exempt the majority of Haredi men from service, just as the military faces a severe shortage of soldiers.

Recently, the draft issue and the widespread refusal of most ultra-Orthodox to serve in the military have caused friction in the coalition. Last week, Smotrich clashed with Knesset member Moshe Gafne of United Torah Judaism, asserting that the Torah sages of Religious Zionism who chose to serve in the IDF fulfilled a greater mitzvah than their ultra-Orthodox counterparts because they “helped deliver Israel from its troubles and save lives in action.”