Since the outbreak of war two and a half months ago, some 450 Charedim were enlisted in the preexisting abbreviated service track for older immigrants, known as “stage two,” according to numbers presented to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcomittee on IDF Manpower Matters.
These Charedim who enlisted belong to a group of volunteers who are over 26 years old, and who are entitled to a full exemption, but who nevertheless join the aforementioned abbreviated service program. Four classes of basic training have been graduated through this program.
Among those who signed up are a number of well-known figures in the Charedi world such as Yanki Deri, son of Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri, and journalist Yaki Adamkar.
According to head of manpower planning and administration, Brig.-Gen. Shai Taib: “The IDF dealt with the issue of expanding enlistment of Charedim even before the war and we saw the desire to enlist from the beginning of the war as an opportunity. We look at needs at three levels – national need, quantitative need (we need a lot of fighters and soldiers to protect security), qualitative (the potential of quality people who can contribute a great deal to the IDF).”
"Charedi society has grown demographically in recent years and the potential for enlistment has increased. By contrast, the draft numbers have been stable for the past four years, and therefore we are becoming more distant from the potential. Today there is a wide variety of enlistment tracks for Charedim – from non-uniformed tracks (including Charedi women in volunteer frameworks) to combat service in Netzach Yehudah, the Tomer Company in Givati and Chetz in the Paratroopers.”
“Looking forward, we are working on forming a second reserve Charedi battalion. In addition, an administration has been set up to strengthen the Charedi units in the ground arm, and a designated officer is set to be appointed which will provide a response for Charedim interested in enlisting in the non-Charedi units.”