The IDF has launched an enforcement operation targeting ultra-Orthodox youth who have failed to report for mandatory military service after being issued draft notices, Ynet learned on Tuesday, with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Meira calling for its expansion as soon as possible.
The move comes as the military prepares to broaden the distribution of draft orders to ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men amid an ongoing manpower shortage and the protracted war in Gaza.
The IDF's Military Police have begun detaining draft-eligible individuals who did not report after receiving their orders, saying that enforcement follows "the exhaustion of all necessary procedures."
The IDF clarified that failing to report constitutes an offense of unauthorized absence and could lead to disciplinary or criminal sanctions. “We will continue to uphold the law and take action against those who evade their duty,” the army said.
As part of the operation, Military Police soldiers are expected to visit homes of draft evaders. The army said enforcement will apply both to the ultra-Orthodox community and the general population.
Haredi political parties fiercely condemned the campaign. A senior official from one party warned Ynet, “If dozens or hundreds of yeshiva students are arrested as it appears they might be, the government's days are numbered.”
United Torah Judaism members accused IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir of trying to topple the government. Meanwhile, Haredi-run call centers have begun advising callers on how to avoid conscription.
The enforcement campaign, initiated by Halevi and led by the Military Police, focuses on so-called “Order 12” draft notices — sent to individuals who failed to appear at recruitment offices after being summoned three times.
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Recipients must report for enlistment on the specified date; failure to do so will result in arrest warrants, travel bans and possible additional penalties.
The army is assigning extra personnel to enforce these orders and ensure that evasion leads to consequences — even without travel alerts like those issued at Ben Gurion Airport. Military Police units will be dispatched to the draft dodgers' hometowns.
Protest groups within the Haredi sector are already preparing for possible Military Police raids in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. A hotline affiliated with Rabbi Zvi Friedman’s radical Jerusalem faction issued a recorded message this week urging followers to be on alert.
“There are rumors of increased Military Police readiness to make arrests in Haredi areas. Be prepared to receive an emergency alert and get to the location as quickly as possible.”
A senior United Torah Judaism figure told Ynet, “Even if the chief of staff and military brass think it’s time to bring down the government — or are knowingly fanning the flames of division — it won’t help them. No yeshiva student will leave his studies. Not due to orders, threats or political stunts disguised as security. They tried to break us and found only a wall of faith.”
Two days ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in a closed session that 10,500 ultra-Orthodox men would be drafted into the IDF within two years. “That’s the number the army can absorb,” Netanyahu said.
Last week, IDF Personnel Directorate's Planning and Personnel Management Division Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb said the army currently needs 12,000 troops just for its standing forces — 7,000 of whom are combat soldiers, the rest in support roles.
He stressed that expanding conscription from the Haredi sector is essential due to the growing strain on reservists, many of whom have already been called up for their sixth or seventh round of duty since the war began.
First published: 12:50, 05.13.25