New IDF draft law expected soon, to include ‘personal sanctions’ against Haredi draft dodgers

Amid renewed demonstrations by the ultra-Orthodox against the new Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Draft Law, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein announced on Tuesday that work on a new bill is set to begin, promising it will include strict sanctions against draft dodgers.

The committee has finished “the comprehensive and in-depth discussions” about the new bill, Edelstein announced, and is now “one step away from moving to the next stage: drafting the law.”

The current bill has passed the first of three required readings in the Knesset plenum, but significant revisions are expected before the final readings, due to strong opposition from the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Edelstein, who has a strong support base in the Likud party, has adopted a controversial position within the government coalition.

He previously stated that he would not accept compromises that could result in a weak law – a stance that has, at times, frustrated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is trying to prevent the Haredi parties from leaving the coalition.

Edelstein said that he will only support a law “that will significantly increase the IDF’s conscription base”. On Tuesday, he emphasized, “We cannot manage without personal sanctions and institutional sanctions [for those who violate it].”

Another large Haredi protest against IDF conscription took place in Jerusalem on Monday, causing major traffic disruptions as demonstrators blocked streets and light rail tracks throughout the capital.

Clashes erupted when police officers declared the demonstration illegal and moved to break it up, according to Walla News.

The Haredi leadership especially opposes the conscription of full-time students at the religious yeshiva schools and has attempted to avert significant personal and institutional sanctions for draft dodgers.

The issue has been simmering for years, but received new urgency during the Gaza War, which continues to require the activation of tens of thousands of reservists.

Edelstein said it is “impossible to view the fifth and sixth rounds of reservist [call-ups] with equanimity when there are so many who are not serving.”

However, Edelstein, who is himself observant, acknowledged that the IDF must make an effort to accommodate the potential influx of ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

“The army must be prepared for a situation in which a young Haredi man who enters the army will also receive all the conditions to leave [at the end of his service] as a Haredi.”

At a Knesset session on Monday, the IDF head of the Manpower Directorate, Brig.-Gen. Shai Taib, said the military is falling short of its recruitment goals.

“We set an annual target of 4,800 Haredi recruits – it is already clear that we will not meet it and will reach a little more than 50% of that,” he was quoted as saying by The Jerusalem Post.

Since the High Court’s landmark ruling last year, “a Haredi youth now receives a draft notice just like any other youth,” Taib explained, and “must appear and complete the full procedure.”

So far, “24,000 draft notices have been issued. From July to February 2025, about 1,700 Haredim were recruited, far from the goal. “In the current recruitment year, we expect to reach about 2,800, but not meet the full goal.”

The IDF needs 12,000 additional soldiers, 7,000 of them for combat roles, and the rest for support, he added.

“Currently, we need 25 regular reserve battalions. The goal is to reach 42 days of reserve service per year. So far, the average has been 70 days, and the current objective is to reduce that by 28 days.”