The new ultra-Orthodox Hashmonean Brigade has completed seven months of combat training.
PROUD HAREDI SOLDIERS
(ILTV)
Fifty Haredi troops entered the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City at the end of a beret march into the Israeli capital. The soldiers blew shofars and prayed together with their families and officers upon arrival.
The march began in the hills of Jerusalem and marked the end of intensive training for the IDF’s first fully Haredi unit created since the start of the Gaza war. The brigade is structured to allow ultra-Orthodox soldiers to serve without compromising their religious lifestyle. The long-term goal is to grow the unit to 4,000 soldiers.
Meanwhile, the political battle over draft deferments for yeshiva students continues. The new head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Boaz Bismuth, is working to pass a new draft law that would meet the IDF’s recruitment needs while satisfying at least some ultra-Orthodox elements—without toppling the fragile Netanyahu coalition.
Angry ultra-Orthodox protests are ongoing in the streets of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. Prominent Haredi rabbi Dov Landau has warned of a “global struggle” after several yeshiva students were arrested for draft evasion. The rabbi accused the government of waging a war on the Torah world and vowed to launch an international campaign in response.
Protesters argue that full-time Torah study cannot be combined with army service.
But the Hashmonean Brigade challenges that belief. Named after the dynasty that rose during the Maccabean revolt, these soldiers view their IDF service as part of their Torah life.