Deri: I don't need to call on Haredim to enlist, let the army deal with it

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was asked if he would call on those who do not study Torah to enlist in the IDF, and he clarified that he “does not need to call for that.” According to him, “The army, with all due respect, which knows how to bomb Iran, this army also knows how to deal with it. Let it deal with it. The army does not want Haredi soldiers.” This is despite the IDF's efforts to adapt service to allow the recruitment of tens of thousands of Haredim, including the establishment of the dedicated Hashmonaim Brigade.

“It gives it a very big headache,” added Deri in an interview with Kol Berama radio. “It wants a secular army, it does not want an army that listens to its rabbis. All these years it was a very big eye-wash. There was no problem. Now that the great failure of a ‘small and technological army’ has been revealed, it suddenly turns out that more soldiers are needed to guard the borders, but the army has done almost nothing until now, has barely moved. So there are a few projects.”

Later, Deri claimed that the integration of Haredim into the IDF does not depend on him. “When the rabbis decide, after they regulate the status of Torah students, they will also decide on what issues it is possible to talk,” he explained. After that, the Shas chairman addressed the plan of Yeshar! chairman Gadi Eisenkot for integrating Haredim into the IDF. According to him, “Eisenkot says ‘I am the most liberal, I am going towards the Haredim.’ What is he saying? He says 3,000-3,500 Haredim out of a cycle of 14,000 will sit and study, and the rest will enlist by law. Who is the Sanhedrin that will determine that the son of Yaakov Grotka will sit and study, and the son of Aryeh Deri will go to the army? What is this thing? After all, if we had wanted to pass a law that, God forbid, would harm Torah students, we would have passed it long ago. We are fighting for everyone who studies Torah and wishes to study Torah to be able to do so.”

Deri was also asked how he would advise a Haredi who does not study Torah to act on the matter. “As long as there are no real tracks in the army...”, the Shas chairman began to say, and was interrupted by the question “There are no real tracks right now? Hashmonaim?”. To this Deri replied: “I haven't checked that. There are the great sages of Israel for that.”

The IDF established the Haredi infantry brigade Hashmonaim in a way adapted to maintaining the religious level. On January 5, 2025, the first recruitment day for the brigade opened, in which about 50 young Haredim showed up at recruitment offices across the country to enlist in it. Despite this, on August 18, 2026, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara updated the Supreme Court that although there has been an increase in the recruitment of Haredim due to the sanctions against them and the adapted tracks for them in the IDF - nevertheless, about 80% of all draft dodgers are Haredim. From the data provided by the Attorney General, it appears that in 2025, 4,298 Haredim were recruited, compared to 2,811 in the previous year - an increase that she attributes to the economic sanctions and arrests, alongside the establishment of adapted tracks for Haredim that encourage recruitment for both combat and rear roles.

BeYachad chairman Naftali Bennett responded to the Shas chairman's words, stating that “While Netanyahu is making blood libels against IDF commanders - Deri is harming IDF soldiers. Aryeh Deri cannot sit in one more government in Israel, the IDF is crying out for soldiers and Deri is lying and making up excuses. With us, this will not happen. Deri will not sit in the cabinet and will not make decisions about our sons who are fighting behind enemy lines. Whoever is not a partner in the defense of the country will not decide on its security matters. The next government will be a Zionist government that will be established on the basis of the covenant of those who serve. Only this way will we be able to recruit everyone. Together we will fix it.”

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman also responded to the remarks: “Aryeh Deri has become the number 1 encourager of draft dodging in Israel. Instead of calling on those who do not study Torah to enlist, he is acting against the recruitment of Haredim and against the IDF. Maran, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, is turning in his grave when he sees his conduct.”