Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the Netanyahu-led government of intentionally stalling the enlistment of bnei hayeshivos, claiming that this policy is directly responsible for the stalemate in Gaza.
“The paralysis in Gaza stems from a conscious decision to deprive the IDF of its most vital resource: soldiers ready to fight,” Bennett wrote in a lengthy post on X. The former prime minister, who is rumored to be positioning himself for a political comeback, asserted that the IDF’s shortage of manpower is preventing a victory against Hamas.
According to official figures, there are approximately 70,000 yeshivaleit between the ages of 18 and 24 who are legally eligible for military service but are currently not enlisted. Although the IDF sent out 18,915 initial draft notices to Charedim since July 2024 — in response to a High Court ruling mandating enforcement — only 232 have enlisted, with just 57 joining combat units.
Meanwhile, Bennett noted, reservists across Israel — including businessmen, talmidim, engineers, and other professionals — have been pulled from their homes and workplaces, serving extended tours of duty. Even soldiers drafted since the war began are already on the frontlines, facing mortal danger in Gaza. Bennett pointed to the death of Police Officer Sgt. Neta Yitzhak Kahane Hy”d, who fell in battle this past Friday in Gaza.
“Hundreds of thousands of families live in dread, terrified for their sons’ safety,” Bennett wrote, “while an entire sector of the population rests comfortably.” He decried ministers who, despite having little or no combat experience themselves, issue proclamations demanding a full takeover of Gaza — even as they fail to provide the manpower needed to achieve such goals.
Since the attacks of October 7th, the IDF has been stretched dangerously thin, with soldiers deployed not only in Gaza but also across Yehudah and Shomron in massive counterterrorism operations, as well as facing threats on the Lebanese and Syrian borders.
“Never have we needed soldiers more than we do now,” Bennett said, claiming that the army currently lacks approximately 20,000 troops, including 7,000 combat soldiers.
Emergency mobilizations of reservists — many serving hundreds of consecutive days — cannot be a long-term solution, Bennett argued. Instead, he proposed drafting even a modest proportion — one-fifth — of eligible Charedi men, which would allow reservists to return home and rebuild their strength for future large-scale conflicts.
Nevertheless, Bennett charged, the government has failed to take meaningful action. He described the recent draft notices sent to Charedim as “a bluff,” accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of putting “political survival” ahead of national security.
The stability of the coalition — which heavily relies on the support of Shas and UTJ, the two Charedi parties, who together hold 18 seats — has caused major obstacles to implementing such change. Despite the High Court’s ruling last year that long-standing draft exemptions are unlawful, the government is currently advancing a bill that would formally enshrine broad exemptions for bnei hayeshivos, which critics like Bennett have labeled the “evasion law.”
IDF officials themselves admit the gap remains. Lt. Col. Avigdor Dickstein, head of the IDF’s Charedi recruitment office, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this week that the army had hoped to recruit 4,800 Charedim during this draft cycle, but so far, only 1,721 have enlisted.
“There is a slight upward trend,” Dickstein acknowledged, “but it is nowhere near sufficient to meet the IDF’s operational needs.”
Meanwhile, Bennett continues to position himself as a leading contender for future leadership. Polls show him consistently as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief rival ahead of the next national election, scheduled for late 2026. Earlier this year, Bennett officially registered a new political party titled “Bennett 2026.”
Bennett, a former high-tech entrepreneur and once a close aide to Netanyahu, briefly served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022. Although originally from the right wing of Israeli politics, he was heavily criticized by the right after leading a government that included left-wing and Arab parties following Netanyahu’s ouster.
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13 Responses
No surprise here. The big righty shows his true colors and kisses up to the left for popularity purposes, just what I would expect from someone who doesn’t have a Jewish mother. He can cry about it all he wants but he’s not even Jewish
Bennett, married to a Jewish shiksa, is an enemy of G-d and an enemy of the Torah.
What a shame he doesn’t realize it is the exact opposite.
It’s actually fairly simple logic. The IDF hasn’t defeated Hamas yet because it has to withdraw from territory to move on and clean out the next piece of territory. Hamas then moves back in. Why does the IDF do this? Because there aren’t enough combat brigades to hold and capture new territory at the same time. So the IDF needs more combat brigades. This takes more soldiers. The Daati (Ashkenazi and Eidat Mizrachi) are fully enlisted as are the non-religious. That leaves only one community to get more Soldiers from. That would be the Charedim (Ashkenazi and Eidat Mizrachi) but they won’t come, even if they aren’t sitting and learning. Hence the maskana that Hamas hasn’t been defeated because of the Charedim. Pretty simple once it’s spelled out.
Those who support this evasion of responsibility will have to answer for their beavior. This is causing unnecessary death! Not just the agudah, degel hatorah, and shas, but all those who allow this travesty to continue. HaShem Yerachem
When will the secular zionists understand?
He was such a great Prime Minister… Everyone misses him so badly… Especially the Dati Leumi who voted for him last time and got burnt… His government’s most lasting contribution was selecting the current Israeli Attorney General…
aml, give us a BREAK. Take all those sick wild IDF dudes who beat up the charedi protestors and have them guard the cleaned out territories
For all those sticking up for him this is the Despicable animal who gave over 50 billion shekels to mansour abbas and his terrorist Muslim Brotherhood party that destroyed Israel in the one year he was prime minister. Want to know who gave all those work permits to gazans to come butcher us in the communities they worked in while they gathered information? That was Bennett. He should be thrown from the tallest building. And anyone who respects or supports him should go with him
B
‘aml’ – your comment doesn’t make sense. The IDF does not have to physically fill every street in Gaza with soldiers to control territory. They need to eliminate Hamas infrastructure, located often underground in tunnels, and control points of access, again complicated by the availability (to Hamas) of tunnels with secret entrances. To fully accomplish those two things would require blowing up the tunnels completely, probably killing hostages, and definitely killing many (not-so-) ‘innocent’ Gazans and wrecking the 30% of Gaza still standing. Instead, the IDF sends small groups of soldiers on extremely dangerous targeted missions to take out specifically identified targets one-by-one. I have heard this more than once from (mostly Dati Leumi) soldiers or their family members who I know personally. They are rightfully furious about the IDF brass prioritizing world opinion over their own soldiers’ lives. Recruiting more soldiers, with no training or experience, who would have to start from scratch, would do nothing to resolve this problem, even if all of the Chareidim would enlist today.
Bennett is a failed politician who double-crossed his voters and led his party off a political cliff. His government collapsed because he had a coalition of small parties with radically divergent views, and other than hate for Chareidim and Netanyahu they had almost nothing they could agree on. He is again trying to get in on a wave of protest voting. The problem is, unlike in America where once you win you’re in for four years, here he has to continue to maintain the confidence of a majority of the Knesset, something he has zero chance of doing as soon as he has to actually do stuff instead of just riling people up against Bibi and company.
Firstly; why has it all started? Not because of the chareidim, but because OF LEFTIST HEAD OF SHIN-BET IGNORING THE IMMEDIATE DANGER OF A MAJOR HAMAS ATTACK!
18 MONTHS IN THE MOST DANGEROUS URBAN COMBAT ZONE, AND THE RELATIVE LOW NUMBER OF CASULTIES [EACH SOLDIER IS A WORLD] – CAN ONLY BE EXPLAINED THROUGH THE ZECHUS HATORAH!
DRAFTING [AND SHMADDING] 70’000 CHAREIDY BNEI TORAH WILL NOT WIN THE WAR BUT ENDANGER THE WHOLE COUNTRY CHOLILOH!!!
Bunch of hogwash. Even adding the extra 70K there won’t be enough to guard 2.2million. I rather rely on for protection someone seriously learning 3 sedarim, but anyone who isn’t, should enlist in of the (now 3) charedi units according to Rav AY Shteinman ZY”A.