Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the IDF’s all-Charedi Chashmonaim Brigade in the Jordan Valley that anyone in the chareidi community who is not engaged in full-time Torah learning should enlist, while stressing that those who do serve must be able to remain fully chareidi throughout their army service.

“Anyone who does not study Torah must enlist,” Netanyahu told soldiers at the brigade, in remarks that come amid a renewed coalition crisis over the future of the draft law and the status of bnei yeshiva.

At the same time, Netanyahu emphasized that army frameworks for chareidim must be built in a way that protects their religious standards and way of life.

“When he enlists, he must be given the right to enter as chareidi and leave as chareidi,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu told the soldiers that they are paving the way for additional chareidi enlistment in frameworks designed specifically for their needs.

“You are the pioneers, and others are following you,” he said. “I see the major increase in enlistment and in this desire to defend the State of Israel.”

The Chashmonaim Brigade was established as a special chareidi combat framework, with arrangements meant to allow soldiers to maintain a chareidi lifestyle while serving. The unit is part of the IDF’s broader effort to create service tracks that include strict religious accommodations, Torah study, appropriate standards of tznius and kashrus, and an environment tailored for chareidi soldiers.

Netanyahu was accompanied on the visit by MK Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, who has been leading efforts to advance a new chareidi draft bill.

The latest version of the bill, however, was rejected by the chareidi parties, underscoring the deep divide between the coalition’s need to pass legislation, the demands of the chareidi leadership, and the growing pressure from the courts and the army.

The proposed legislation would seek to increase chareidi enlistment while preserving exemptions for full-time yeshiva students. Supporters argue that any arrangement must recognize the centrality of limud haTorah and protect those whose lives are devoted to learning. Critics, however, say the current proposals are too weak, contain too many loopholes, and would not lead to a meaningful change in actual enlistment numbers.

The issue has become one of the most sensitive and explosive questions in Israeli politics, particularly since the High Court ruled that the government no longer has legal authority to maintain broad draft exemptions for yeshiva students without a law passed by the Knesset. The ruling also increased pressure on the government regarding state funding for yeshivos whose students are not legally exempt from service.

Since then, the IDF has been moving forward with draft orders for chareidi men, even as actual enlistment remains limited and the political system struggles to find a formula acceptable to the army, the courts, the coalition, and the chareidi parties.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)