Channel 12 military commentator Nir Dvori said the Israel Defense Forces should fundamentally change the hesder yeshiva track, arguing that its shortened service creates inequality among conscripts. He made the remarks while discussing the role of hesder students in elite units, saying they currently enlist and serve in some of the army’s best formations but only for 1 year and 4 months.
Dvori said, “There is an issue that in my opinion needs attention and should be changed as well, the story of hesder yeshiva students.” He added that “this thing needs to change,” insisting that they should serve “like everyone else” and that there should be “full equality.”
According to Dvori, pushing for that change would have broader significance. “We need to insist on it,” he said, adding that “I think this thing will mark and symbolize a lot for what is to come.”
His comments were welcomed by secular left-wing activist Naor Narkis, who shared the clip on his TikTok account and wrote: “Religious people, go ahead and enlist for full service. You do not deserve half service in the hesder arrangement, and not an exemption for religious women.”