The Israeli army, based on a recent decision, will issue the first draft calls to around 1,000 young Orthodox men aged between 18 and 26 starting next Sunday. This decision was established by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after a meeting with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other military officials. The draft recalls, launched following a recent Supreme Court ruling, will take place in three phases, with additional conscription orders to be sent in the coming weeks.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the IDF's recommendation to issue initial orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox sector. The first round of approximately 1,000 draft orders is expected to be issued on Sunday. The recruitment target for the coming year is 4,800, which will be part of the legislation expected in the Knesset. The IDF believes that to recruit this number, a much higher number of orders must be issued, based on the assumption that not all orders will be complied with.
Leaders of the ultra-Orthodox public in the Lithuanian and Sephardic streams have issued a directive to ignore the conscription orders and forbade reporting to the conscription bureaus. It is estimated that the first thousands of orders will not go to yeshiva students but to young people who do not study in yeshiva or those who have integrated into the employment market without enlisting.
Gallant assumed that the orders would be sent in three pulses, with a learning process after each phase to improve the subsequent ones. The call-up plan for the next two recruitment cycles will be determined according to the responsiveness of the ultra-Orthodox public in the upcoming cycle. The decision was approved in a discussion attended by Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevi, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram, Major General Eliezer Shakdi, R.A.C.A. Major General Yaniv Asor, and Special Forces Major General Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi.
The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee convened to discuss the decision. Brigadier General Shay Taib, head of the planning division and personnel manager, stated that they are prepared to issue the orders this Sunday to start the recruitment process. He emphasized the need for an effective screening process for the ultra-Orthodox society, which may take time, and highlighted the importance of preparing people for combat positions.
