Haredi draft

Bennett warns Netanyahu over draft evasion, IDF manpower issues during Knesset visit

Former PM Naftali Bennett sharply criticized Netanyahu over the IDF manpower crisis, draft evasion, and the outgoing government’s controversial draft bill.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett gives a press conference in the Knesset, Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
THEN-IRANIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends a UN General Assembly meeting on rule of law in 2012.

Was Ahmadinejad in the running to be reinstated?

Knesset members are seen speaking with eachother as the coalition’s bill to dissolve the Knesset passed its preliminary reading on May 20, 2026 in the Knesset plenum.

Coalition's bill to dissolve Knesset passes preliminary reading amid crisis over haredi draft bill

Brig.-Gen. Shai Tayeb is seen speaking  as Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discusses advancing the controversial haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft bill on May 20, 2026.

IDF warns of urgent manpower shortage as haredi draft bill debates resume amid coalition crisis


Israel's government risks unity by advancing divisive laws amid ongoing war with Iran - editorial

As Israel continues to face war, the government's focus on divisive legislation is distracting from critical wartime priorities and risking further division within the country.

A man brandish Israeli flags following an Iranian strike in Givatayim, in the center of Israel on March 6, 2026.

Female IDF soldiers barred from entering base on religious grounds - report

The soldiers, some seven officers and reservists, all in uniform, were met by commanders from the ultra-Orthodox Netzach Yehuda battalion who forbade them from entering.

FEMALE IDF field intelligence collection soldiers S, D, and V in the Syrian buffer zone.

War with Iran halts haredi draft exemption law, but inequality remains - editorial

Amid escalating tensions with Iran, Netanyahu shelves the contentious haredi draft law, prioritizing the war effort and national unity over domestic divisions.

 A haredi man and an IDF soldier pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, November 14, 2024

Gov't approves new defense budget during war, NIS 5b. allocation to haredim, settlements

Coalition funds are part of the national budget and are determined during coalition negotiations after elections when forming a government.

Prime Minister Benjamin convenes a government cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, October 26, 2025.

Netanyahu, Smotrich to 'set aside' haredi draft law, approve billions in defense funding for war

“The costly campaign requires a special budget with the addition of tens of billions of shekels for the war effort,” Netanyahu said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

'Stealing like thieves': Opposition condemns gov't NIS 5b allocation to haredim, settlements

The government faces backlash over its decision to allocate NIS 5 billion to haredi institutions and settlements during Israel’s ongoing conflict.

 Former prime minister Naftali Bennett in Tel Aviv. August 1, 2022.

High Court: State’s haredi draft enforcement update ‘does not satisfy’ amid Iran war tensions

“In these pressing times, today’s hearing was canceled,” the court wrote. “But the need to enforce the obligation of military enlistment is steadily increasing.” 

A COURT hearing on the government’s draft of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli military at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, October 29, 2025.

Ex-PM Bennett slams Likud MKs for not opposing haredi draft bill, breaking coalition discipline

“The reservists are being abandoned because they don’t have a lobby in Likud. The mark of disgrace for abandoning IDF soldiers will be branded on every coalition member,” Bennett said.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett attends a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 17, 2026

A-G to High Court: Gov’t has not adopted economic sanctions plan against haredi draft dodgers

The Attorney-General warned the High Court that the government failed to plan for revoking benefits from Haredi draft evaders, despite data showing financial sanctions increased enlistment rates.

 Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police outside the IDF Recruitment Center at Tel Hashomer, central Israel, April 28, 2025

Haredi parties accuse Knesset foreign affairs committee legal adviser of stalling draft bill

According to senior haredi party figures quoted by Maariv, some of Frenkel-Shor’s conditions are not purely legal in nature but reflect “an ideological approach.”

MK Boaz Bismuth seen with haredi MKs and Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer in the Knesset, Jerusalem, January 14, 2026.