IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday again said that the military must expand its ranks and draft more ultra-Orthodox soldiers, as data showed an increase in Haredi enlistment over the past year that still fell short of the army’s target number.

Speaking on the Lebanon border to commanders of the Hasmonean Brigade, which is meant to accommodate ultra-Orthodox troops, Zamir said, “One of the lessons we learned from October 7 is that the IDF must grow, expand, and become stronger.”

“We must increase our ground combat forces and build more battalions and brigades that know how to fight, defeat the enemy, and defend the State of Israel,” he said, according to remarks published by the army.

Zamir told the Haredi commanders that the military’s goal is to “enable you to serve in the IDF while preserving your way of life.”

“Your integration into the IDF is vital to the security of the State of Israel and to the entire people of Israel,” he said.

Haredi leaders have militated against enlistment, claiming that serving in the military will tempt ultra-Orthodox soldiers to become less religious and abandon observances surrounding modesty, gender segregation, prayer, kosher food, and other areas of Jewish law.

Zamir noted that the IDF has seen “an increase in the enlistment of........

© The Times of Israel