Video: A look into the ultra-Orthodox struggle against the Israeli draft

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews are angry. For the first time in decades, the community known as Haredim are being drafted to serve in the country’s military. Their appointment has become one of the most divisive political debates in the country. At the heart of the debate is the size of the community. The haredim population has grown dramatically in recent decades, and their numbers continue to increase. It’s a big day for Binyamin Pappenheim. His granddaughter is getting married. For the ultra-Orthodox, starting a family is an act of faith. Pappenheim himself has 67 grandchildren. When Israel was founded in 1948, the country’s secular leadership wanted Haredim support for the nascent state. The government largely exempted them from compulsory military service and provided them with funding to study religion full-time. The Haredim were a small community at the time, but have since grown to almost 14 percent of the population. As their numbers grew, so did resentment among other Israelis forced to serve in the military. Subsequently, in 2024, against the backdrop of multiple conflicts, including the war in Gaza, the Supreme Court revoked the exemption. The haredim were furious, but their anger did not stop the draft announcements. Pappenheim is an activist with Am Kadosh, one of the Haredi organizations leading the opposition to conscription. “We should all share the same rights and the same burdens.” Like many other non-Haredi Jewish Israelis, Liat Weiss Shahaf is frustrated by the fact that few ultra-Orthodox have signed up so far. For the former soldier, the issue is personal. It will be months before her 17-year-old daughter Ella joins the ranks. “For us it is a rather complex feeling that an Israeli sends his child to the army, because we believe that this is our security circle and this is the people’s army. Everyone should serve, and they don’t, so it is a kind of feeling of betrayal.” Young Haredi students gather tonight to listen to Yehuda Bloy, the leader of Am Kadosh. The young men are nervous. Several community members have already been arrested for opposing the design. A few students argue that serving in the military does not mean giving up what it means to be a charedi. But Bloy is not convinced. Israel is heading towards parliamentary elections in 2026, and the growing Haredi voice will be a decisive factor. The community wants to present a united front by organizing the largest protest of its kind in years.