Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth clarified that the government’s updated giyus proposal would maintain long-standing exemptions for those immersed in full-time Torah learning, while establishing a gradual framework to draft some members of the chareidi public who are not actively in yeshiva.
Speaking on Channel 12’s Meet the Press, Bismuth dismissed what he called “fake” reports about the law’s contents, assuring that it did not represent a sweeping change but a realistic plan designed in full coordination with the prime minister. “The law is more or less ready. I am in full coordination with the prime minister. The prime minister wants this law; very much so,” he said. Using a metaphor, he added, “The locomotive is ready to leave the station [and is] waiting for passengers.”
While the bill would allow full-time bnei Torah to continue learning without fear of conscription, Bismuth said that “within five years, 50 percent of those not in yeshiva” would be drafted — a figure he described as “huge.” He declined to elaborate on how the army would decide who among the non-learners would be enlisted and who would remain exempt.
He emphasized that the new structure would include oversight and sanctions but only limited national service participation. “There will be an oversight mechanism,” he said, noting that merely 10% of those mobilized would serve in civilian national service rather than in the IDF. He rejected talk of a “revolution” in chareidi enlistment, comparing the slow, steady process to the way women’s participation in combat units increased over time. “Two decades ago, there were debates over women in combat, but today, when my daughter comes back from Gaza with a red beret, it’s obvious. It’s the same with chareidim — each one who enlists is an ambassador,” he said.
For the past year, gedolei Yisroel and askanim have urged lawmakers to protect lomdei Torah from the draft, after the High Court declared that blanket exemptions for full-time yeshiva students were unconstitutional. Roughly 80,000 chareidi men between ages 18 and 24 are currently registered as eligible for service but remain in yeshiva. The IDF, facing manpower shortages due to the war against Hamas and other fronts, has sought an additional 12,000 recruits.
Bismuth assumed the chairmanship of the committee in August after Shas and United Torah Judaism temporarily exited the coalition in protest over the government’s delays in advancing the new giyus framework, which critics derisively called an “evasion bill.” Upon taking the post, Bismuth discarded the earlier draft prepared by Yuli Edelstein — which had been met with outrage from chareidi representatives — and began redrafting it from scratch.
He explained that his vision for the law sought to find the equilibrium between the world of the yeshiva and the needs of national defense. “I admire those who wear the uniform, but just as much — and I say this out loud — I admire those who study the Torah,” Bismuth said, stressing that he wanted a law that both safeguarded Torah learning and would withstand scrutiny by the High Court.
According to Hebrew media reports, the current version keeps the exemption age at 26 and sets a target for drafting half of the annual chareidi cohort within five years. Government support for yeshivos would only be affected if institutions failed to meet agreed-upon enlistment benchmarks after a year. Penalties for individuals who decline to serve would begin only after two years, and only if the overall enlistment goals were not met.
Last month, Bismuth told Channel 14 that he hoped to bring the final bill for its remaining Knesset votes in December, estimating that “10,000 chareidim” would be drafted within two years, with the number rising gradually thereafter. He underscored that “there will be sanctions — there will be personal sanctions, there will be institutional sanctions, there will be serious sanctions,” while emphasizing that the intent was not to provoke or demean the chareidi public.
Having met with many leading rabbanim, Bismuth said the message he heard consistently was that those immersed in Torah should continue undisturbed, while others should fulfill their civic duty. “I have met with many rabbanim from across the chareidi community,” he said. “The consensus among them was that those engaged in studying Torah full-time should be allowed to continue, while those who don’t should enlist.”
{Matzav.com}
