A record number of ultra-Orthodox recruits reported to the Tel Hashomer induction and sorting base on Sunday, with hundreds of young men from the Haredi sector joining the Israel Defense Forces. The current wave of enlistment is expected to continue over the next two weeks, with hundreds of the new recruits slated to join combat units in tracks adapted to their lifestyle. Among the units they’ll join are the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the Hasmonean Brigade, the Hetz company in the Paratroopers Brigade, and the Negev platoon in the Air Force.
1+Shomer Yisrael, the national organization for integrating Haredim into the IDF, expressed great satisfaction with the growing numbers and noted that the intensive work of pre-military academies and Haredi hesder yeshivas is producing proven results on the ground. The organization’s CEO, Lt. Col. (res.) Yossi Levy, said the young leaders are proving it’s possible to combine strict adherence to Torah identity with direct contribution to the country’s security on the front lines. Recruit Itamar Reinhold, a graduate of the Nitzutz B’Emunah preparatory academy, shared that his brother’s service in Gaza inspired him to join the fight.
1+The spirit of mobilization and mutual responsibility was evident among the recruits and their emotional parents who accompanied them to the induction base. Nachman, an enlistee in the Hasmonean Brigade, emphasized that in the current situation everyone needs to mobilize for the country’s security, regardless of sectoral affiliation. Rachel Zeitoun from Petah Tikva, mother of one of the recruits, said that after her son left yeshiva, it was clear to the whole family that he would enlist and contribute in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, while Rivka Yifrach from Bnei Brak expressed great pride in her son’s enlistment in the Negev platoon in the Air Force.