IDF struggles to enforce Haredi draft as Gaza offensive looms

As war looms in Gaza, the IDF admits it’s barely enforcing draft orders for tens of thousands of Haredi men, according to an Army Radio report.

While tens of thousands of IDF soldiers are being called up for the planned offensive in the Gaza Strip, few of the 24,000 draft notices sent out to Haredim have led to real sanctions or arrests, and those notices amount to a little over a quarter of the eligible Haredi draft pool of 80,000.

Sources speaking to Army Radio reporter Doron Kadosh said that “We don’t want battalions of the Military Police to storm” the Haredi cities of “Bnei Brak, Modiin Ilit, and Beitar Ilit.” They said that “we want to increase enforcement – but it’s hard for us.”

Meanwhile, all efforts to pass a draft law regulating the process of drafting at least some Haredim remains stuck in limbo, with Haredi parties demanding an effective sweeping exemptions and Likud MKs like Yuli Edelstein demanding a much larger number of draftees. Threats to dismantle the coalition have done nothing to resolve the crisis.