Katz criticizes IDF’s ‘unilateral’ plan to draft 14,000 more Haredi men

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday criticized the military’s plan to issue 14,000 additional draft orders to ultra-Orthodox men by May, arguing that unilateral measures have failed in the past.

“The principles of the draft law I presented to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are based on two key pillars: setting clear recruitment targets for significant military service among the ultra-Orthodox community—along with clear sanctions for failing to meet them—while also preserving and protecting the Jewish Torah world, which is fundamental to our existence as a Jewish state,” Katz wrote.

He warned that previous attempts, including issuing draft orders without broader agreement, had failed, resulting in a reality where only a small percentage of ultra-Orthodox men serve in the military.