The issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox has been an open sore on the face of society that has festered deeper and deeper into its fabric.
Nobody is under any illusion that legislation will, overnight, magically produce thousands of fighters that will help fill the IDF’s manpower gap. However, as the war exposed, the disproportionate burden placed on the non-haredi population is untenable and has created a fissure between those who serve and those who do not.
No coalition has had the courage to stand up to the haredi parties to demand their young men step up. However, Likud MK and former head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein took a respectable step to change the situation with a bill he proposed earlier this year. The response of the government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was to fire him.
Now, the committee’s new head, Boaz Bismuth, also from Likud, has distributed his version of the draft bill, the latest attempt to create a permanent legal framework for the enlistment or exemption of haredi men, after the High Court of Justice ruled that the state may not continue granting sweeping exemptions without a clear legal basis and without addressing inequality in conscription.
Bismuth presented his proposal as a “realistic” compromise that takes into account the IDF’s manpower needs, the ongoing security situation, and the political and social sensitivities around the haredi community.
The 'first draft year'
However, as The Jerusalem Post’s Sarah Ben-Nun reported, the bill is skewed to provide considerable relief for the haredi sector, including the immediate restoration of funding and benefits, minimal short-term enlistment obligations, and a delayed timeline for evaluating compliance.
At the center of the proposal is its definition of the “first draft year.” According to the bill, the first enlistment period begins the moment the law takes effect and runs until June 30, 2027.
This is politically explosive because if the law is passed within the coming weeks, all the economic and institutional sanctions imposed on haredi institutions over the past year are nullified immediately, while the sector’s compliance with enlistment targets will not be reviewed again until mid-2027. In effect, the haredi system would regain its benefits now, while the obligations are deferred for roughly a year and a half.
Edelstein promoted a tougher, more “IDF-first” model focused on real enlistment, clear combat quotas, and strong enforcement, even at the cost of a coalition crisis.
In addition, Edelstein’s numbers started lower and climbed gradually over five or six years. Bismuth starts with a higher headline number but stretches the first period over 18 months and leaves the fifth-year target vague, defined as “more than half” of the cohort.
Another difference relates to combat service: Edelstein insisted on a significant combat share. Bismuth removed that requirement entirely, relying on the IDF’s internal placement policies rather than the law.
There are also differences in the sphere of oversight and sanctions: Edelstein’s bill included stricter supervision of yeshivot and more severe budgetary consequences, while Bismuth’s version prefers incentives and partial cuts over dramatic confrontations with major Torah institutions. Supporters of Edelstein’s line say the new bill essentially turns into a “draft-evasion law” that gives legal cover to continued non-service.
The bill is a clear attempt by Netanyahu to move the goalpost as little as possible while keeping his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners satiated. It’s better than nothing but a far cry from the Edelstein plan, and it does little – in the short or long term – to alleviate the burden of service that the rest of us face with dignity and pride.
It has rightfully been criticized by opposition leaders, including former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
The Post’s Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein wrote on Friday that the government is seeking a formula that satisfies the High Court’s demands for equality before the law, keeps the coalition intact, and does not deepen already raw social divisions between those who serve and those who do not.
However, it’s clear that such a recipe doesn’t exist. And given the options, Netanyahu and his mouthpiece Bismuth prefer to make do with the first two ingredients and leave the last one out to dry.