Israeli military enlists first group of ultra-Orthodox recruits into brigade
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The Israeli military has enlisted the first batch of about 50 recruits into its new ultra-Orthodox brigade after a controversial decision to end their decades-long exemption from service.
By the end of the day, about 100 additional ultra-Orthodox recruits will be enlisted for reserve service, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday.
“The two companies enlisted today mark the initial step in establishing the ultra-Orthodox brigade, a significant milestone in expanding the service of the ultra-Orthodox sector in the IDF, particularly in light of the operational needs arising from the demands of the war,” a statement from the IDF read.
Israel has turned to enlisting ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi) Jews of draft age after more than a year of war – against Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in the Middle East – has strained its military.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jews could not be exempt from military service, as they had been since the founding of Israel.
But the move has been deeply unpopular with a community on whose support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relies for his governing coalition.
Content retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/05/middleeast/israel-enlist-first-ultra-orthodox-brigade-intl-latam/index.html.
