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Tel Aviv [Israel], July 6 (ANI/TPS): The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) said it will begin sending draft summonses this week to complete the recruitment processes for members of the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) community whose status as yeshiva students is no longer valid. A Supreme Court ruling nullified the military deferments yeshiva students have enjoyed for decades as illegal and, in the absence new legislation passed by the Knesset to make Tora study deferments legal, ordered that the practice be ended and the students be drafted.
The summonses are scheduled to be sent in several waves during the month of July until all 54,000 have been completed. As part of the overall selection and recruitment processes, the IDF said it will continue to focus efforts and give priority to those with high potential for combat roles and frontline combat support, in order to fill the ranks in the IDF as soon as possible in light of the increasing operational need. The IDF intends to work to increase enforcement activities with respect to draft evaders and deserters from the general population. It will also continue to work to expand the recruitment of members of the Haredi public, while ensuring that they are provided with the best conditions to maintain their unique lifestyle and developing additional tracks that will enable their integration into the system. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently working with the Haredi parties in his coalition government on enacting legislation that will make the yeshiva deferments legal. The Haredi parties have threatened to leave the coalition and force new elections if such a law is not soon passed. (ANI/TPS)
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