Shas MK Arye Deri’s son Yanki, an ultra-orthodox haredi Jew, enlisted for the IDF reserves on Thursday. Deri, 40, has served as the chairman of a department in the Zionist Organization over the last few years.
Yanki is one of roughly 3,000 ultra-Orthodox Israelis who have enlisted in the IDF since the onset of Operation Swords of Iron. Most of the recruits are exempt from mandatory IDF service and are 26 years old or older, meaning they did not conscript when they became of military age and are volunteering at a more advanced age for the sake of the country.
The IDF has thus far recruited 200 ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews. While some applicants await their enlistment amid the backlog of new applicants, officials in the ultra-Orthodox recruiting office claim that the response is the fastest they can remember.
"We hope that after the first batch – it will be possible to increase the pace," recruiting officials said.
Will the increase in Haredi recruits become the new normal?
The increase in recruits is primarily among married ultra-Orthodox who are employed and has no effect on tens of thousands of young yeshiva students who are exempt from military service until the age of 26 in order to allow them to study Torah.
The war also caused a pause to the legislative program allowing ultra-Orthodox Jews an exemption from enlistment in the IDF, though it is likely that in the future, Haredi parties like Shas and Torah Judaism will insist on continuing this exemption.