IDF Chief Warns Netanyahu Against Suspending Draft Enforcement for Ultra-Orthodox Conscript Absentees

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir sent a stern letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman ahead of a vote on an amendment to the Security Service Law. The amendment proposes freezing the arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft absentees, a move Zamir strongly opposes. He warns that such a freeze would severely damage the IDF's legitimacy and operational capability by undermining the trust of serving soldiers and discouraging enlistment.

Zamir emphasizes that the military's professional stance, presented by the head of the Planning and Human Resources Division, completely rejects the amendment. He argues the law would not increase army ranks in the short term but would instead incentivize draft evasion by granting exemptions from prosecution and criminal proceedings. This, he states, contradicts the IDF's needs unequivocally.

A key point of contention is a clause establishing a special committee of three senior officers within the IDF to verify yeshiva students' affidavits and grant them official "yeshiva student" status, exempting them from service. Zamir outlines three main reasons for rejecting this mechanism: it would harm the legitimacy and trust of soldiers who have borne the combat burden for over two years; the IDF lacks the expertise to assess the affidavits' technical criteria effectively; and assigning this bureaucratic task amid ongoing conflict would divert critical command attention and resources.

Zamir concludes by demanding the complete removal of the proposed officers' committee from the law, underscoring the heavy organizational burden and public controversy it would cause during wartime.