On Thursday, the IDF said it is issuing 1,000 Charedi draft notices, as a first round of the 7,000 total Charedi notices the IDF will be sending out over the next two months.

In the coming days, Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa will be replacing Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asur as the IDF’s head of human resources, and will lead up the Charedi draft issue.

This past summer, the IDF sent out 3,000 draft notices to Charedim, but only about 300 people who received the notices ended up drafting.  The army had selected the 3,000 based on who would be more likely to join, and received signals implying 50% would join.  However, community pressure, including Charedim blocking induction centers on draft day, ultimately resulted in only 10% of those who received notices joining the IDF.

This time around, the IDF hopes that by casting a wider net, a higher number of Charedim will end up joining.

Additionally, the IDF is taking measures to create a more Charedi environment for new Charedi draftees, including the opening of a new Charedi combat brigade on December 26th, as the existing Netzach Yehuda brigade has become more Dati Leumi than Charedi over the years.   Other Charedi options include the male-only Yoav Track within the Logistics Command, a group serving in technical and logistical capacities at a Hardened Aircraft Shelter at a male-only Air Force base section, and a new Charedi unit serving at the camp Ofer Prison.  A new lieutenant colonel with a Chabad background has been introduced, who is  focused on Charedi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.

The army considers the Charedi draft issue to be an issue for the politicians to solve, and is not calling for a wide-scale arrest campaign for Charedi draft dodgers.  While the army has implied there may be small-scale arrests from time to time, most draft dodgers will not be arrested, unless they attempt to travel internationally.

{Matzav.com}