Despite protests of the so-called “Jerusalem Faction” against the draft of haredim to the IDF, the army has recently seen a significant increase in haredi officers.
According to details published by Army Radio, at the beginning of 2017 the number of haredi officers serving in the IDF increased by dozens of percentage points, and now stands at 113 officers.
While in 2015 there were only 79 haredi officers, at the beginning of 2016 this number rose to 97, and at the beginning of 2017 the number leapt to 113.
On the other hand, close to 7,000 haredim serve in the IDF today, a smaller number than the target set in the 2014 draft law, which limited deferments for full-time yeshiva students with the aim of increasing the number of haredi men inducted into the army.
Commenting on the data, Chair of the Knesset Finance Committee Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) emphasized that if a haredi youth were to consult him on whether to go to the army or study Torah - he would advise to study Torah.
“”Whoever studies Torah is sustaining the entire world. In the period of King David, half the Nation studied Torah and the other half served in the army,” Gafni said.