ISRAEL - Ultra-Orthodox Must Serve in IDF
The IDF will send out over 50,000 draft orders to haredim (ultra-Orthodox) in the 2025-2026 draft year, according to a summary of an oversight meeting chaired by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
In addition, the IDF is compiling a new plan to increase the effectiveness of sanctions and enforcement on haredim who ignored draft orders, according to the summary.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced that “significant progress has been made” regarding the haredi draft law.
Members of Shas, which has publicly taken a hardline stance and demanded that the bill exempt a majority of eligible men from service, have taken a more pragmatic approach in private.
-www.jpost.com, 5 June 2025
Arno's Commentary
The conflict between the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) was already evident at the declaration of the rebirth of Israel.
[A] major issue was the inclusion of God in the last section of the document, with the draft using the phrase “and placing our trust in the Almighty.” The two rabbis, Shapira and Yehuda Leib Maimon, argued for its inclusion, saying that it could not be omitted, with Shapira supporting the wording “God of Israel” or “the Almighty and Redeemer of Israel.” It was strongly opposed by Zisling, a member of the secularist Mapam. In the end the phrase “Rock of Israel” was used, which could be interpreted as either referring to God, or the land of Eretz Israel, Ben-Gurion saying, “Each of us, in his own way, believes in the ‘Rock of Israel’ as he conceives it.”
The conflict arose anew during the last election, when a significant number of religious groups became part of the coalition government.
In Numbers 1:45, we read: “So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel.” There are a number of exemptions, but military service is clearly applicable to all.
In the New Testament, we read: “And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14).
Jesus did not tell them to refuse military service. That, incidentally, also applies to weapons. When Peter attempted to defend Jesus with his sword, we read: “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). We carefully note the words, “Put up again thy sword into his place.” Interestingly, Jesus did not command Peter to get rid of his sword, but not to use it.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
