Several thousand people rallied in Jerusalem on Thursday evening to demand ultra-Orthodox enlistment to the IDF, and against government-backed legislation seeking to reinstate blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
Hundreds of young men and women who are set to enlist in the army participated in the demonstration, alongside reservists and the parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters of serving soldiers and reservists who all marched from the Bridge of Strings at the city entrance down to the Knesset where the rally was held.
Several prominent politicians were also in attendance, including former prime minister Naftali Bennet, Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid, former IDF chief of staff and Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, and National Unity leader MK Benny Gantz.
Notably, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who was removed by the coalition from his position as chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for opposing the government’s legislation on Haredi enlistment, was also present at the rally.
For the past year and a half, the ultra-Orthodox leadership has pushed for a law that would largely keep its constituency out of the Israel Defense Forces, after the High Court of Justice ruled that decades-long blanket exemptions from army duty traditionally afforded to full-time Haredi yeshiva students were illegal.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
The government is currently trying to pass new legislation to reinstate exemptions for most of the Haredi community, but is facing significant pushback.
Likud MK Yuli Edelstein attends a march in support of the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, from the entrance of Jerusalem to the Knesset, January 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Also prominent among the participants was the large number of religious-Zionist men and women of all ages among the crowd, as well as among the speakers at the rally, which included Rabbi Yaakov Medan of the Har Etzion yeshiva, and Laly Deri, a bereaved mother
Speaking to the audience, Deri insisted that only if all parts of the public participated in military service could it be united.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett seen with Leader of the Opposition MK Yair Lapid during a march in support of the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF, from the entrance of Jerusalem to the Knesset, January 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“How can enlistment to the army be a political issue, we are all the descendants of our forefather Abraham, of King David, protecting life is the holiest possible act,” Deri told the crowd.
“The time has come for all the tribes of Israel, religious, secular, ultra-Orthodox, to stand shoulder to shoulder, as one people, with one heart and one fate. Only that way can we build a home of peace and light.”
During the rally, Bennett praised the broad spectrum of Israeli society that was participating in the event, and in particular, the bereaved families in attendance.
“These families lost the most precious thing of everything, and they are asking all of us to join them in their demand, which is moral and just like no other: enlistment for all,” posted Bennet on X.
Among those at the rally were dozens of young men and women attending premilitary academies where they study various disciplines and prepare for military service for a year before enlisting.
“We need an enlistment law that is fair for those who serve and does not allow the ultra-Orthodox to continue to evade the draft,” said Neta Rosenberg, 19, who is currently in the Aderet pre-military academy.
“I’m enlisting next year, but there are many people my age who will be sitting in the air conditioning and studying Torah while others contribute to the country, endanger their lives, and enlist,” he continued. Rozenberg.
Ido Kan, 61, from Hadera, said he has long campaigned for ultra-Orthodox enlistment, and was waving a banner reading “Do not stand by your brother’s blood,” a passage from the Bible interpreted to mean that it is forbidden not to help save a fellow Jew in danger of death.
Ido Kan from Hadera participates in a march demanding ultra-Orthodox enlistment to the IDF, January 15, 2026. (Jeremy Sharon / The Times of Israel)
“Someone who doesn’t learn Torah needs to enlist,” said Kan of the likely tens of thousands of registered yeshiva students who do not actually fulfill their study requirements as stipulated under previous laws allowing for yeshiva study in lieu of military service.
“And someone who actually learns Torah needs to enlist all the more so, because he learns what’s written here,” said Kan, who served in the IDF during the first and second intifadas.
“The Torah is not just for learning, it’s a way of life which must not just be studied but fulfilled too. This perversion of the Torah cannot continue.”
Yonatan Loberboim from Jerusalem, who also served in the IDF, said that he, too, believes that learning Torah helps protect the Jewish people, but that this did not negate the necessity of enlisting in the army as well.
“As a religious, believing person who thinks that Torah study protects the Jewish people, I agree very much with the haredi claim but, according to this theory, we should draft all those not studying Torah, of whom there appear to be several tens of thousands of people,” said Loberboim.
Just like when a Haredi person sees a house on fire he doesn’t continue studying Torah, so too in the army, you do what you need first of all to protect [the country] and then there are the people who should sit and learn Torah, but you need first of all the people to protect the Jewish people, especially when the IDF is saying there are not enough people like this.”
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this