Deri: 'I don't need to call on Haredim to enlist, let the IDF deal with it'
'The army does not want Haredi soldiers,' claimed the Shas chairman, dismissing previous integration efforts as a 'charade.' He also spoke out against the state-Haredi education system, calling it a 'real struggle.' Political leaders criticized his remarks as encouraging draft evasion.
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri was asked if he would call on those who do not study Torah to enlist in the IDF, and he clarified that he 'does not need to call for that.' According to him, 'The army, with all due respect, which knows how to bomb Iran, also knows how to deal with it. Let it deal with it. The army does not want Haredi soldiers.' This comes despite IDF efforts to adapt service, including the establishment of the dedicated Hashmonaim Brigade.
'It gives the army a very big headache,' added Deri in an interview with 'Kol Barama' radio. 'It wants a secular army; it does not want an army that listens to its rabbis. All these years it was a very big charade. Now that the failure of a 'small and technological army' has been revealed, it turns out that more soldiers are needed to guard the borders, but the army has done almost nothing.' Deri claimed that Haredi integration does not depend on him: 'When the rabbis decide, after they regulate the status of Torah students, they will also decide on what topics can be discussed.'
Afterwards, the Shas chairman referred to the plan by 'Yashar!' chairman Gadi Eisenkot for integrating Haredim into the IDF: 'Eisenkot says: 'I am the most liberal, I am going towards the Haredim.' What is he saying? That 3,000-3,500 Haredim from a cycle of 14,000 will sit and study, and the rest will enlist by law. Who is the Sanhedrin that will determine whose son will sit and study and whose will go to the army? We are fighting for everyone who wishes to study Torah to be able to do so.' When asked how he would advise a Haredi who does not study Torah, Deri replied: 'As long as there are no real tracks in the army... I haven't checked that. There are the great sages of Israel for that.'
Despite the establishment of the Hashmonaim Brigade and an increase in enlistment to 4,298 in 2025, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara informed the Supreme Court that about 80% of all draft dodgers remain Haredim.
'Beyachad' chairman Naftali Bennett responded: 'While Netanyahu is making blood libels against IDF commanders, Deri is harming IDF soldiers. Aryeh Deri cannot sit in one more government. The IDF is crying out for soldiers and Deri is lying. Whoever is not a partner in the defense of the country will not decide on its security.' Avigdor Lieberman added: 'Aryeh Deri has become the number 1 encourager of draft dodging in Israel. Maran, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, is turning in his grave.' Gadi Eisenkot also stated: 'Aryeh, it's over. In the government we will establish, we will pass a real enlistment law that will preserve the status of the Torah.'
Deri also sharply criticized Haredi streams that send their children to state-Haredi schools: 'There is a desire to close the educational networks of the Haredi public to turn them into state-Haredi, to dictate the curriculum. That is the whole war. We will win.'
