The IDF deliberately forged and increased the number of ultra-Orthodox (haredi) men who drafted as soldiers into the military, lying to the chief of staff and defense minister for years. According to a report by KAN News, over the past five years the military has been pushing the recruitment of haredim and has been reporting that the number of recruits doubled and even tripled over the years. In 2011, for example, the IDF reported that 1,200 haredi men were drafted when in fact only 600 enlisted. Six years later, in 2017, the military stated that 3,070 haredi men were drafted when in fact only 1,300 enlisted. To boost the numbers, the military added secular recruits to the list of haredim. According to a report by Haaretz, haredi men who leave the community and draft into regular IDF units are still considered by the military to be ultra-Orthodox in order to meet its enlistment targets. The real figures mean that the targets for haredi enlistment over the last five years have been missed by huge margins and previous assumptions that steady albeit slow progress on the goal of increasing the number of haredi men in military service are totally wrong. Although it was previously thought as much as 35% of haredi men of military age were serving in the IDF, in reality that less than 15% are serving in the military. The upshot of the revelations are that the state has almost totally failed in its goal to increase equality in the burden of military service, which secular and non-haredi Israelis have deplored as unjust for so long. “I really hope that when we held the discussions on the recruitment law, the data we received was accurate. If we have made decisions in the past based on false, incorrect data or data that no one knew how to estimate, it’s severe. Woe to us if the culture of lying is part of the Defense Ministry and the IDF,” said Labor chairman and former defense minister Amir Peretz. “Reports that the IDF mislead the Knesset and the public in reporting on the number of haredi recruits is very disturbing, and the whole truth must be published immediately,” MK Ofer Shelah from Blue and White said. “But one thing remains clear: The only time the number of haredim enlisted and went to work was the period when the Draft Law we enacted in 2014 was in effect. When the state stands up for itself, the right thing happens.” Reforms passed in the Knesset in 2014 that aimed to gradually increase haredi recruitment has been met with stiff opposition from many in that religious community, which has historically been exempt from military service, and there have been regular demonstrations against the draft. A new version of the proposed draft law would see a gradual increase of haredi enlistment and will sanction yeshivas if the targets are not met. The enlistment target for July 2018 was set at 3,348 and see a raise by 8% by 2020 and a rise of 6.5% the following year. The final goal would see 6,844 haredi men enlisting into the military by 2027. Numbers released by the military on Sunday showed that 2,400 ultra-Orthodox inducted into the IDF in 2018, compared to the 1,300 the previous year.
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