Significant Increase in Ultra-Orthodox Recruits: Revealed Data and a Gap That Remains Huge
Even more than estimates: details obtained by ynet show that in the last year at least 4,000 ultra-Orthodox have been drafted, including 1,000 for combat roles, compared with 2,800 the year before and lower figures in previous years. But in the draft age group there are about 14,000 ultra-Orthodox with recruitment potential. The reasons for the increase and the optimism in the army come on the day an injunction was issued against the law exempting deserters from arrests.
The IDF Manpower Directorate is currently compiling data on the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox, which are examined in the IDF from July to July, and not by calendar year. Data that reached ynet indicate that in recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox being drafted into the IDF — more than a thousand recruits per year.
The increase is taking place during a period of growing pressure on the ultra-Orthodox sector, driven by a combination of an acute shortage of manpower in the IDF, Supreme Court rulings that led to stricter enforcement, and the shift from institutional sanctions to personal sanctions. Alongside this, waves of arrests of those required to report for the draft and threats of criminal proceedings have become a central factor affecting the level of compliance.
The government has finally approved a law freezing these deserters’ arrests, but today the Supreme Court issued an interim judicial injunction against it. According to the data, before the war about 1,700 ultra-Orthodox were drafted per year; in the first year of the war (until July 2024) about 2,200; last year (until July 2025) about 2,800; and in the last year already more than 4,000.
According to military sources, one of the main reasons is enforcement and sanctions that affect young people who do not study Torah and encourage them to enlist. At the same time, the IDF notes the many adjustments made in recent years to allow members of the ultra-Orthodox public to serve while maintaining their lifestyle, including within the framework of the Hashmonaim Brigade and in dedicated projects and tracks such as "Kodkod".
The updated figure is higher than the estimate heard about a month ago. The head of the Planning and Manpower Division in the IDF, Brigadier General Shay Tayeb, estimated at the time during a discussion in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the number would reach about 3,500 ultra-Orthodox in the last year. However, an updated count that the IDF is conducting these days shows that the number of recruits is already about 4,000, and possibly more.
In that same discussion, the IDF also expressed its opposition to the bill to freeze the arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers required to report for the draft. Tayeb told committee members that "it is not possible that there will be no enforcement only against one group that is under the Security Service Law." According to him, enforcement measures, "including arrests," are "part of our ability to implement the Security Service Law," and they have contributed to a consistent increase in the recruitment rate in the ultra-Orthodox sector since the outbreak of the war.
However, the IDF emphasizes that the need for ultra-Orthodox soldiers is still very high. According to data presented by the army, there is currently a shortage of about 7,500 combat soldiers and a similar number of soldiers in combat support roles. This is, among other things, against the backdrop of the war’s heavy cost, during which more than 950 soldiers were killed and many thousands were wounded.
The IDF clarifies that the recruitment potential from ultra-Orthodox society is significantly greater than the volume of recruits being drafted today. The assessment is that there are about 14,000 ultra-Orthodox with recruitment potential in the draft age group. At the same time, the recruitment data refer to all age groups that received an exemption from the draft, aged 18 to 26.
In the security establishment, they say this recruitment potential must be exhausted, including to ease the burden on reservists who have been called up for hundreds of days of service since October 7, as well as on conscript soldiers, who bear an especially heavy burden. Many of them are, except for periods of basic training and the recruit training course, in continuous combat in various arenas — in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria, and in Judea and Samaria — almost without breaks and training.
As part of efforts to expand ultra-Orthodox recruitment, the Chief of Staff signed a special General Staff order defining the procedure for integrating members of the ultra-Orthodox public into the IDF through three dedicated tracks. In the IDF, they view this order as a significant step intended to give certainty to ultra-Orthodox soldiers and rabbis, and to anchor their rights officially in a binding order rather than only in instructions or statements that each commander may interpret differently.
In addition, the Chief of Staff appointed an advisor for ultra-Orthodox affairs with the rank of Brigadier General, Avinoam Emuna, who established the Hashmonaim Brigade, acceptable to rabbinical circles. The IDF is also working to expand dedicated tracks for the ultra-Orthodox.
Among other things, the creation of ultra-Orthodox combat engineering companies is being considered, as well as the establishment of a dedicated training system for ultra-Orthodox servicemen that will include a variety of roles — from combat support to combat soldiers — as well as officer tracks.
A senior official in the Manpower Directorate said: "In recent years there has been a significant increase in the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox into the army. We would like to see more soldiers out of those 4,000 recruits, and not only about 1,000, but the direction is positive. On the other hand, these figures must not be misleading: there is huge recruitment potential in ultra-Orthodox society, and it needs to be exhausted. We will act to do so."
