Legal adviser exposes flaws in bill that weakens IDF manpower while granting preferential Haredi exemptions.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee received a sharply worded legal briefing ahead of Tuesday’s debate on the proposed Haredi draft exemption law. Attorney Miri Frankel-Shor, the committee’s legal adviser, warned members that the current bill raises “significant legal and principled concerns,” placing equality, national security, and IDF manpower requirements at risk.
Under the proposal submitted by committee chair MK Boaz Bismuth, up to 10% of Israel’s annual draft targets could be filled by “civilian-security service” instead of traditional IDF enlistment. These positions would be limited exclusively to graduates of Haredi educational institutions and would include posts in the Prime Minister’s Office support units, the Shin Bet, Mossad, Israel Prison Service, and police—roles far removed from the demands placed on IDF combat recruits.
Frankel-Shor warned that restricting this track solely to Haredi graduates “constitutes a violation of equality,” especially given that the alternative service is voluntary, shorter in duration, devoid of reserve duty, and fundamentally different from military service even when connected to a security framework. These differences, she wrote, exacerbate the widening gap between Haredi and non-Haredi obligations.
From an operational standpoint, she cautioned that the proposal does not address the IDF’s urgent needs. Israel remains engaged in multi-front threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian militias, and the military requires a substantial increase in manpower—not the diversion of thousands into administrative or semi-security positions that cannot compensate for the shortage of soldiers and combat troops.
According to the bill’s schedule, Israel would aim for 8,160 Haredi recruits—either military or civilian-security—in the first year, dropping to 6,840 in the second, then climbing to 7,920 in the third and at least 8,500 in the fourth. From the fifth year onward, 50% of each Haredi graduating cohort would be drafted, with only up to 10% allowed to choose the civilian-security route. Critics argue these targets are insufficient, overly lenient, and misaligned with Israel’s wartime responsibilities.
