Day 595 - Why only 5% of Haredi men are showing up for the draft

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

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Summary

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, political correspondent Sam Sokol steps in for Berman.

This week, we learned that only 1,212, or five percent, of the 24,000 ultra-Orthodox men who have received initial draft notices since July 2024 have begun the enlistment process. Some 70,000-80,000 Haredi men are eligible to serve.

We also learned that despite constituting 14 percent of the working-age population, the ultra-Orthodox community generated only 4% of Israeli tax revenues in 2023, costing the government billions and adding thousands of shekels to the average non-Haredi worker’s annual tax burden, according to a new study by the Israel Democracy Institute.

Sokol has been rigorously covering the issue of universal conscription, also known as the Haredi or ultra-Orthodox draft, both in the halls of the Knesset and on the streets of Israel.

In this episode, we learn more about the diverse Haredi society and what motivates it. We talk about the history behind the exemptions, as well as the history of Haredim joining the coalition.

And finally, Sokol updates us on the slow legislative process to codify Haredi enlistment -- which may just topple the coalition.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: Yeshiva students listen to a Torah lesson at the Hebron Yeshiva in Jerusalem on August 16, 2018. (Aharon Krohn/Flash90)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Times of Israel's Friday Focus. I'm your host, Amanda Barshall Dan, this week here with our political correspondent, Sam Sokol, while Laser Barman is still on reserved duty. Today is Friday, May 23rd, Day 594 of the war. Sam, thanks so much for joining us today.
0:21.6	It's a pleasure, Amanda.
0:23.0	You have been delving into the issue of the ultra-Orthodox draft, both in the Knesset and
0:30.3	on the streets. And today we're going to dive into some of this rigorous reporting and talk
0:35.7	about the history of how these exemptions began,
0:40.8	where we are now, the history of the Haredi community here in Israel. What is this very diverse
0:47.4	community? We're also going to talk about the political power that this community wields
0:53.1	both in the past and the present. So there's a lot
0:56.9	to discuss all of this and more when we're back.
1:06.0	We're being used. Jews are being used on Israel, on anti-Semitism, for other purposes. And that puts
1:13.6	us in a dilemma. If it was Jews-quant Jews, it's one thing to stand up. But now, when Jews are being
1:20.6	used on immigration issues, on woke issues, makes it a lot more difficult when to say something
1:26.5	or not say something.
1:30.5	On the most recent episode of identity crisis,
1:32.7	Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Abe Foxman,
1:36.1	longtime anti-defamation league leader and Holocaust survivor,
1:40.3	about the relationship between major Jewish organizations and those in power,
1:44.2	and to understand when and how to speak up for the Jewish people.
1:50.0	Join us as we take on the issues facing contemporary Jewish life on identity crisis from the Shalom Hartman Institute, wherever you get your podcasts.
2:06.0	And we're back. I'm Amanda Borschal Don here with our political correspondent Sam Sokol. So Sam, this week we learned that only 1,212 or 5% of the 24,000 notices that were sent to the
2:15.9	ultra-Orthodox community since July 2024. These are the
2:20.9	notices for the draft. The draft notices. Only 5% were actually, I don't know, what heeded is,
	...

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