As new recruitment cycles open for members of the Haredi community, the IDF is presenting the dedicated service tracks created specifically for Haredi recruits, with the goal of combining meaningful military service with the preservation of their way of life. All of the tracks are anchored in General Staff orders and tailored to the needs of those serving in them.

One of the prominent tracks is the Hetz Company, the Haredi combat company of the 202nd Battalion in the Paratroopers Brigade. Joining the company requires passing a dedicated selection process that includes physical and personality assessments. During the war, the company operated in four combat arenas - Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria - becoming the first Haredi company to operate in all of these sectors. Its soldiers participated in offensive operations, arrests and the defense of Israel’s borders, and also took part in an operation to recover the bodies of hostages from the Jabalia refugee camp.

At the same time, the Hasmonean Brigade, the IDF’s first Haredi infantry brigade, continues to develop. The Yonatan Battalion, the brigade’s regular-service battalion, has been operating in southern Lebanon for more than six months, where it has participated in destroying terrorist infrastructure, locating weapons, neutralizing launchers and capturing a terrorist from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. Alongside it, the Shimon reserve battalion has also been established, bringing together Haredim who previously received exemptions from military service and subsequently enlisted in the reserves, together with veterans of other Haredi frameworks in the IDF. The battalion is expected to begin operational activity in the northern sector as early as the holiday period.

The brigade also operates advanced training programs, including the fourth class of its brigade commanders’ course and the brigade’s first officers’ course, as part of the expansion of the Haredi command structure within the IDF.

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the IDF’s first Haredi battalion, is also continuing to expand its operational activity. Since the outbreak of the war, the battalion has operated in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Lebanon, eliminated hundreds of terrorists, located weapons and participated in counterterrorism operations. The IDF notes that in recent years the battalion has made a significant leap forward and become a maneuvering infantry battalion with independent operational capabilities. It is currently operating in the northern sector with the goal of ensuring the security of northern communities.

Alongside the combat tracks, technological service programs are also continuing to expand. Under the Ma’alot Tzur program, Haredim serve in technology and logistics positions in the Technology and Logistics Directorate after completing Level 00 basic training, while acquiring a profession that can benefit them after their military service as well. Another track is Project Yoav, which includes Level 02 basic training and enables professional service in technology and logistics while being fully adapted to the Haredi way of life.

The IDF emphasized that all of the tracks were created with the goal of enabling members of the Haredi community to contribute to Israel’s security in a wide range of positions - as frontline combat soldiers, commanders, intelligence researchers, and professionals in technology and logistics - without giving up the observance of their way of life and religious beliefs.