Joining a positive trend: rise in Haredi enlistment in the latest draft cycle

In the August 2026 draft cycle, 286 Haredi combat soldiers enlisted, compared to 230 in the corresponding cycle last year. This figure joins an upward trend: 2,300 in 2023, 2,800 in 2024, 4,300 in 2025. The IDF is establishing an explosive drone factory with 41 Haredi soldiers. The data is published amid the enlistment crisis and the High Court's cancellation of the law freezing arrests of draft dodgers.

In the latest August 2026 draft cycle, there was an increase in the number of Haredi recruits to the IDF: 286 Haredi combat soldiers enlisted, compared to 230 in the corresponding cycle last year. This figure joins a continuous upward trend over the past three years — in 2023, 2,300 Haredim enlisted, in 2024 the number rose to 2,800, and in 2025 it jumped to 4,300, an increase of over forty percent. Meanwhile, the IDF is currently establishing a factory for producing explosive drones, where Haredi soldiers serve; in the current cycle, 41 Haredi soldiers were assigned as drone technicians at the factory. The data is published against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis surrounding Haredi enlistment. Several weeks ago, the High Court of Justice unanimously canceled the law freezing arrests of draft dodgers, in an expanded panel with a mostly conservative majority. Eight members of the panel ruled that the amendment to the law is unconstitutional because it severely harms the core constitutional right to equality.