Secret Recordings Revealed: Haredi Leaders Caught Admitting Their Conscription Law is a Total Fraud

Leaked audio recordings broadcast on Channel 12 expose senior haredi rabbis who back the current conscription bill openly stating it will never lead to actual enlistment of yeshiva students, describing it as a temporary delay tactic to restore suspended budgets and gain years before the law collapses. The revelations fuel demands for genuine equality in national service, especially as the IDF faces critical manpower shortages that directly undermine its ability to defend Israel following the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists.

Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, a key figure behind MK Moshe Gafni, explained his support for the legislation as a way to "buy time" for the haredi community. When asked if yeshiva students outside traditional frameworks would eventually be forced to enlist, he replied unequivocally, "G-d forbid." Dismissing the enlistment targets in the proposed law, he said, "Do they think we will want to meet the target? Of course we will not want to." He predicted the law would fall apart after a few years, adding, "In the meantime, we gained time." Hirsch also called past attempts at special haredi enlistment frameworks under Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman a mistake, stating, "Our community does not have such compromises."

Rabbi Dov Lando was equally direct, declaring there is no intention to enlist any haredim, even those not studying in yeshivot. "What they are talking about is nonsense – it will not happen. We will not go to the army; no one will go to the army," he said. Rabbi Yehuda Cohen from Shas echoed the sentiment, saying the targets "do not interest anyone" and that yeshiva heads would send no one. He revealed the real goal is budget restoration, noting, "They want to cancel the decrees that made people destitute," and predicted, "In the meantime the decrees will be canceled, the debates will continue, and we will have some breathing room."

The recordings triggered fierce political backlash. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said they prove "the spiritual leaders of the haredi parties are openly admitting that the draft-evading law is a fraud and that no haredi youth will enlist." Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called it "golden vision" and "a knife in the back of soldiers," urging coalition members to stop lying to the public. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman accused the rabbinical council of revealing its true face, stating, "It’s all a bluff – no haredi will enlist. We will continue to send our sons and daughters to the army, and they will continue to send theirs to live off the taxes we pay."

The National Religious Reservists Forum declared it is time to "stop closing our eyes and face reality," while reservists' groups like "Shoulder to Shoulder" called it "deliberate fraud, intentional time-buying, and conscious abandonment." Yoaz Hendel of the reservists' party warned that right-wing voters opposed to the current government will not support such a list, stressing the need for genuine enlistment paths.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Bismuth warning of severe shortages in combat personnel with immediate consequences for readiness. "The security reality of the past two years leads to unprecedented challenges and significant effects on various manpower systems," Zamir wrote. He cautioned that delays in legislation "may bring the IDF to a lack of readiness already next year," with severe damage to force building and training quality without immediate extension of mandatory service. The letter highlights how exemptions and delays exacerbate gaps of thousands of fighters, weakening the military at a time when Israel desperately needs every available soldier to defend against ongoing threats.

The recordings and Zamir's warning underscore the urgent need for equal conscription across all sectors of Israeli society, including the haredi community. It is fundamentally unfair that certain groups are exempt from the duty to defend the land while others bear the full burden of fighting and dying on the front lines. Israel faces existential security challenges since October 7, and the IDF cannot sustain itself without broader participation. Multiple religious frameworks already exist within the military to accommodate observant soldiers, making blanket exemptions unnecessary and unjust. True equality in service is essential to national survival, and the time for haredim to draft like everyone else is now.