Chareidi soldiers who enlisted nearly two years ago in the “Tomer” Company—the Chareidi track within the Givati Brigade—told Ynet that the unit has been disbanded and that they have been reassigned to a regular company serving in Gaza, where they can no longer maintain the Chareidi lifestyle they were promised when they enlisted.

Speaking to Ynet, several soldiers described feeling betrayed. The soldiers enlisted in November 2024 under a framework designed to accommodate their religious observance. Several weeks ago, they were integrated into an operational company currently serving in Gaza alongside secular soldiers.

“We feel betrayed,” one soldier said. “They promised us something, and we came. People burned bridges with the communities they came from. Most of our company receives special welfare support for a reason. Many severed ties with their parents and families, knowing that even future marriage prospects could be damaged if people found out they enlisted. They sacrificed their past and their future to contribute to the country, and now no one seems to care.”

The soldiers said the specialized framework had ensured tefilla times and Torah study during training, but that conditions changed after they joined the battalion.

“We’re invited to events that are not gender-separated. During the Nine Days, they played music and served meat. There are many gaps that simply don’t fit our religious outlook,” one soldier said.

Others said they are now assigned to duties alongside female soldiers, including kitchen shifts and serving with female paramedics.

“During training they took care of everything, and then once we reached the battalion everything changed,” one soldier said. “Why doesn’t anyone care anymore?”

Another soldier described the atmosphere in Gaza. “We’re at an outpost in Gaza, and our way of life isn’t respected. They play music on Shabbos, take videos, and post them on social media. In our company, even the non-observant soldiers respected us. They wouldn’t turn on the television or use their phones in our room. Now we’re assigned kitchen duty with women. When we raise concerns, we’re told to refuse the assignment and face disciplinary action. So we end up working with them, even though that isn’t appropriate for a Chareidi soldier.”

The soldiers said they have appealed to commanders, the brigade rabbinate, and the IDF’s Chareidi Directorate, but their concerns have not been adequately addressed.

“We’ve spoken to everyone we can. Nobody takes us seriously,” one soldier said. “As far as they’re concerned, Tomer has been closed, and that’s the end of it.”

“The Chareidi Directorate told us the company could not continue and decided to dismantle it,” one soldier said. “The commanders told us they would stop recruiting Chareidi soldiers because the company had no future and would gradually be closed. It is very painful. It was an honor to serve in Givati, but when you dismantle a company built around a particular way of life, you are supposed to take care of its soldiers. We were promised we could maintain a proper Chareidi lifestyle.”

The IDF said that recruitment to Tomer Company ended with the December 2025 draft cycle as part of changes intended to improve Chareidi enlistment frameworks and better preserve the religious lifestyle of participants.

The military added that the remaining Tomer soldiers, whose numbers have naturally declined as no new recruits joined the unit, were integrated into another company in Givati “while making the necessary adjustments in coordination with commanders.” It claimed that “any issues that arise are being addressed by the relevant authorities.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)