Correction: Haredi Military Exemption Cost is 144 Shekels Monthly
A fact-checking review revealed that the true cost of Haredi military exemption is 144 shekels per month per working household, correcting an earlier overstated figure of 1,420 shekels.
The cost of Haredi military exemption amounts to 144 shekels per month for every working household, correcting a previous error that vastly overestimated the figure, according to an updated analysis published following a correction request by MK Yitzhak Pindrus.
The Source of the Original Error
Months ago, a previous fact-check evaluated a claim by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who stated that every working family in Israel pays 1,700 shekels monthly due to the avoidance of military service by the ultra-Orthodox community. At the time, researchers estimated the figure at roughly 1,420 shekels and rated the claim as accurate.
The calculation relied on a study from the Israel Democracy Institute indicating that the total cross-sector subsidization of security costs for the Haredi community reached 14.9 billion shekels. However, MK Pindrus pointed out methodological flaws in that computation. The 14.9 billion shekel figure did not isolate military draft evasion alone; it also encompassed broader economic costs associated with low labor-market integration among ultra-Orthodox citizens.
Correcting the Calculation
Consulting with the original study's authors, Gilad Cohen Kovach and Dr. Gilad Malach, researchers clarified that the direct and exclusive cost of military draft avoidance stands at 3.8 billion shekels annually. This total comprises 1.4 billion shekels resulting from exemptions for ultra-Orthodox women, 1.9 billion shekels from male draft evasion, and 500 million shekels from missing reserve duty obligations.
"The direct cost of draft evasion stands at 3.8 billion shekels per year, which translates to 144 shekels per month for every working household," the updated review concluded, retracting the earlier 1,420 shekel estimate.
Dividing the revised annual cost of 3.8 billion shekels by the Central Bureau of Statistics' count of approximately 2.2 million working households yields the precise figure of 144 shekels per month. The previous evaluation erred by utilizing a much narrower demographic subset—specifically the top four deciles of non-Haredi Jewish taxpayers—and by incorporating employment-gap costs into what was meant to be a purely military exemption metric.
