Bereaved parents, wives of reservists, injured soldiers and leaders of the political opposition marched in Jerusalem on Thursday to protest the draft exemption law being advanced by the government coalition. The demonstration was organized by the Families for Conscription forum, representing more than 100 bereaved families.
“We united out of a deep moral duty, against a law that does not meet the security needs of the IDF and does not respond to the reality in which the State of Israel finds itself,” the forum said.
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Bereaved families and their supporters rally in front of the Knesset
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Hundreds took part in the march, which ended in a “National Conscription Assembly” outside the Knesset. Rabbis also joined the families in solidarity.
Prominent figures join protest
Opposition figures including Yair Lapid, Gadi Eizenkot, Benny Gantz, Yoaz Hendel and Naftali Bennett participated in the march. Bennett was seen embracing both Lapid and Eizenkot.
Speaking to reporters at the start of the march, Lapid said: “I’m coming directly from the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, where the ultra‑Orthodox are sitting and saying ‘evade, evade, evade,’ and we’re shouting back at them ‘serve in the IDF.’ The IDF is short thousands of fighters — for the army, for the people standing here behind me. They [the families] did 300, 400, 500 days of reserve duty to defend the people of Israel, and they [the ultra‑Orthodox lawmakers] are sitting in the Knesset calling for evasion. That’s why we came, and we will not give up. This law will not pass, and Yesh Atid will make sure it doesn’t pass.”
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Moment of unity: Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett greet each other with a hug at the rally
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Eizenkot said he came to support strengthening the IDF at a challenging time: “The conscription law is the most just and correct law to strengthen the State of Israel. The people here represent unity and a desire for service — the most diverse crowd from all parts of Israeli society. I hope the message sent from here to the Knesset is to advance a conscription law, not an evasion law — one that brings the best sons and daughters into service. We must not allow this to be a matter for only part of Israeli society.”
Bereaved families share personal stories
Michal Hirsch Negri, mother of Captain (Res.) Roi, who was killed in the battles in Kibbitz Be’eri, told ynet: “Roi fell on October 7. He married a month and a half before. He didn’t wait — he and his team jumped into Be’eri to save people. He saw the horrors and told his team and the other teams who entered there: ‘We are here to save our people, to save lives and defend home.’" She added that: "This rally is not against anyone. It’s for national and social resilience, for the ability to live here in security, for bridging the rifts in Israeli society and ensuring everyone shares the burden. It’s important to us because it’s the legacy of our children. My son loved this country with all his soul. There is no other country for me and I want to protect it.”
Hazel and David, parents of Staff Sergeant (Res.) Yona Betzalel Breif, spoke about their son. “Yona was a combat medic in Duvdevan, wounded first in May 2023 in Tulkarm and received a full medical exemption after two and a half years of service — but he decided to return to the unit a month before October 7. His unit went into Kfar Aza to free families. His friend and the commander in his platoon were wounded. Yona ran to save them and was shot 13 times. He survived and spent another 417 days in Sheba Hospital, in intensive care. He died of his wounds a year and a month ago.”
“He was a symbol of love of life and the passion for living — the opposite of ‘we will die before we enlist.’ Those slogans cut into my heart. Our lives are precious. He fought — not only in Kfar Aza but also in the hospital, for our people, to give strength to other soldiers. And this is our people, a people that not only wants peace but wants life, with shared burdens for all of us. We all learn the same Torah and everyone must enlist.”
Speeches highlight unity and shared duty
Rabbi Yaakov Medan, head of Yeshivat Har Etzion, whose son Elisha was severely wounded in Gaza, said at the rally: “When we go out against the exemption of ultra‑Orthodox from military service, we should not argue about how important service is — everyone knows that. The real debate is not about carrying stretchers together. The debate — and here lies our weakness — is about unity.”
Lali Deri, whose Saadia was killed in the war, spoke alongside Michal Hirsch Negri and Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, whose son Elhanan was killed by terrorists while rescuing residents in Be’eri. “The children put on their uniforms and went to battle. It’s not logical that the issue of service has become political. Since when do we need a law to do what is right, necessary and moral? It’s not logical that we are standing here, but it’s also the most logical, it’s expected, it’s a direct continuation of the education we gave. My Saadia embodied that education. He didn’t refuse to fight because he was a scholar — he went because he was a scholar.”
Bereaved families addressed public officials saying in a statement: “The proposed law is not a conscription law. It is a law meant to solve a political problem. It exempts tens of thousands of young men from service. We cannot let this law pass. This law is built on a feeling, on a concept or even hope that it will bring about increased enlistment among the ultra‑Orthodox — while it allows so many avenues for evasion.”
‘This Is the legacy of our children’
“We need a real law that will protect us, that will protect the state and ensure the security of our grandchildren," the statement continues. "We have a dream that instead of hearing ‘we will die before we enlist,’ or rabbis adding fuel to the fire and opposing in every way the defense of the country while wanting to live at its expense, we will hear the ultra‑Orthodox leadership say: ‘A day will come that we will be among them.’ We will hear the government advance a law whose true purpose is to allow those who see themselves as keepers of the Torah to also uphold the Torah — and defend the state in both word and deed. We will hear the ultra‑Orthodox public choose to enlist, choose to be one of us. That day will come because it is our children’s legacy.”
Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer said: “Take off your sandals because the ground you stand on is holy. That’s what I feel standing here among bereaved families who lost precious and righteous children for life here in this land. I grew up among wise people, studied under great yeshiva heads. In my youth, I did not hear any praise for army service — but I did hear them speak about the importance of bearing one another’s burdens. Our duty now is to shoulder less of the burden off others and see how we stand together with our brothers.”