The foreign affairsand defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), convened on Tuesday for a debate on the Defense Service Bill (Amendment No. 26) (Integration of Yeshiva Students), 2022. This was the committee’s first debate on the bill under MK Bismuth as committee chair.
Committee Chair MK Bismuth said at the start of the debate, “Since assuming my post, I have held dozens of meetings with people who requested [to meet]. We have made an effort to hear all the voices in Israeli society and to conduct the deliberations here in cooperation, together.
“Until now I have mainly heard in the deliberations here, and in general in the discourse, about the ‘no,’ what we don’t agree about. The time has come to talk a bit about the ‘yes,’ because there are also points of agreement in Israeli society. I want us to talk in this committee about the ‘yes,’ and this way we will move forward and create the right climate. We’re all in favor of a draft bill because the army needs soldiers, and also because there are duties that are privileges. The privilege in the duty, that is how we should treat the bill.
“We agree on one thing, that we want a draft bill. As a committee member too, I said that I wish people would say out loud what both sides have said to me quietly. We will search for the things that connect us.
“This is a democracy, and everyone can say what he wants, up to a certain limit, which is hurtful to the army or to my Haredi brothers.
“I know I will hear the argument that there’s a draft law and there’s no need for [another] bill. It’s true that there was October 7 and things have changed, but you remember what happened in the previous Knesset, and here we want to move forward, to make a meaningful and serious bill. I am surrounded by professionals who will help me achieve the objective, which is a genuine and suitable draft bill.
“I want the army to be strong and to win, and the draft bill will contribute to that. We will do this in the most efficient manner possible, in cooperation and with focus on the goal. This is [our] destiny, and I have been put here to enact a draft bill, but the bill will be signed by all the committee members.
“We are a nation of long distance runners, we are a nation of processes; but we don’t have the luxury of a long process. Let’s work together to present a draft bill, because the soldiers, the army and the state need this bill,” said MK Bismuth.
Brig.-Gen. Shai Tayeb, head of the IDF’s human resources Planning and Management Division said, “In the 2024 draft year that ended on June 30, our estimate is that we will reach about 2,940 Haredim who met the criteria and enlisted. This number is much higher than the 1,800 that you’re familiar with; it is very far from our target of 4,800 and even farther from the army’s needs.
“Not everyone who comes [to enlist] goes to Haredi tracks, some are in general tracks. A total of 1,300 went to Haredi tracks and 1,600 to general tracks. Within the Haredi tracks, 400 went to combat [units], representing 31%. In the general tracks, the number of combatants stands at 650.
“In terms of drafts summonses, from the pool population that totaled 80,000, all of them are in the summons process. Regrettably, the rate of non-cooperation within the population is very high, and we have created a process that enables us to maintain the process at a higher pace,” said Brig.-Gen. Tayeb.
Nir Issachar of the Fourth Quarter: “I left behind a wife and children and went to reserve duty; I have an open [call-up] order for another 70 days. You’re talking here about the question whether there will be personal sanctions—I live a life of personal sanctions, I get up every morning to a sanction, no one asks me. I have friends who were killed. Why don’t you talk about us? Why don’t you ask how more combatants can come to the IDF? Mr. Committee Chair, when we came out of the meeting with you, people told us that we were naïve. I want you to promise us that this is not a game being played at our expense.”
Shaul Avdiel, a coordinator at the Netzah Yehuda Battalion: “From our experience in the past 25 years, there are adapted tracks that allow Haredim to enter the IDF and preserve their way of life. They are not perfect [tracks], but it’s possible. It’s important to say that there won’t be a draft by coercion. No one will charge forward in Beit Hanoun because they were taken to the IDF Induction Center in handcuffs; this should be based on education.”
MK Dan Illouz (Likud): “As a right winger who believes in actions that require many soldiers—if we want to continue the war in Gaza, and if we want a massive military presence, we need a great many soldiers. For this reason, we need a draft bill quickly; the existing situation is bad for everyone. The right way is a way that talks about withholding benefits from people who don’t enlist, from all sectors.”
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