Kol Chai radio host Kobi Segal on Thursday slammed the IDF’s recruitment policy, saying that there is a major discrepancy between the army’s public statements about a manpower shortage and what is actually happening on the ground.
As the IDF steps up its arrest of Lomdei Torah, the IDF is ignoring hundreds of Charedim who are actively seeking to enlist. He explained that about 500 Chareidim have registered for a dedicated IDF framework intended for those seeking either regular service or reserve duty, yet remain without any meaningful response.
“There is an IDF project called ‘Keilim Sheluvim’ for integrating Charedim into the IDF,” he said. “About 500 Chareidim tried to enlist through it. In practice, they are simply waiting.”
He added that the pilot phase of the program was successful, but since then the registrants have received no response.
According to Segal, the IDF spokesperson responded by saying, “They registered, but it was never stated that they had been accepted.” He expressed frustration that no reasonable explanation has been provided as to why Chareidim who are actively seeking to enlist are left at home.
Segal summed up his position bluntly: “There are 500 Chareidim who want to serve, and the IDF doesn’t want them. Apparently, it suits them to have a crisis.”
It should be noted that in the wake of the October 7 massacre, many Chareidim reported that they tried joining the IDF but received no response. In addition, Chareidi reserve soldiers reported that they were not called up by the IDF throughout the war—even as IDF officials claimed that the army was short on manpower.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
There is a reason why all this is going on. It’s a tactic by the Mossad to stir up protests of Chareidim. This idea was instituted by the Mossad head as a tactic to fight Iran.
It’s not news to us that there’s a bunch of lying sacks of trash behind this whole thing, starting with the Supreme Court and attorney general who invented a crisis overnight
they don’t want the chareidim who want to assimilate they want chareidim who want to remain chareidim and want to assimilate them
the whole purpose of the craetion of medinat yisroel was akira’s ha’daas
if they can have only one, either ra medinah but no uprooting or uprooting and no medinah they would choose the latter as the whole intent me’tchiloso was the uprooting
– Rav Chaim of brisk over 100 years ago.
Were these volunteers for combat positions, and did they have.combat profiles? That’s where the shortage is – and this article does not address that.
an Israeli Yid
Another manipulative article about the Charedi draft issue.
Keilim Sheluvim, the Shlav Bet program that the army opened to charedim after October 7, and the Charedi reservists who were not called up are all low-skill, logistics soldiers.
The IDF is lacking 12,000 COMBAT soldiers.
You will not find ONE SINGLE Charedi young man who is qualified and willing to join a combat unit that isn’t accepted!!
The IDF is expanding MASSIVE efforts to bring in every single Charedi combat soldier.
In addition, the claims made here about the IDF not being interested in Charedi logistics soldiers are also half-truths and lacking context.
Here are the facts:
1) The IDF desperately needs combat soldiers
2) The IDF is making monumental efforts to draft Charedi soldiers and ensure their every religious need
3) The Charedim aren’t showing up and aren’t cooperating with the IDF
(I say this as someone who did Shlav Bet and has done significant meluim during the war and as the uncle of a soldier in Chashmonaim)
shocked?
They don’t want the chareidim in the army, they only want to arrest and sanction i.e. persecute them.
I am not surprised by anything the idf does or the Iranian regime