DRAFT LAW REVERSAL? Ehud Barak Admits IDF Cannot Absorb All Chareidim, Floats National Service Compromise to Oust Netanyahu

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has acknowledged that the IDF cannot realistically accommodate the entire chareidi population, suggesting that young chareidi men who do not enlist in the military could instead perform a limited period of national service. His remarks represent a significant departure from demands for sweeping chareidi conscription and come as opposition parties explore possible compromises with the chareidi parties in an effort to form a government without Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Speaking Monday in an interview with Radio 103FM, Barak indicated that the opposition may need to reconsider its approach to the contentious draft issue as negotiations continue over the formation of Israel’s next coalition. With neither political bloc having secured a Knesset majority in last week’s elections, the possibility of bringing chareidi parties into a government headed by Gadi Eisenkot has placed the draft controversy at the center of coalition discussions.

Asked whether the anti-Netanyahu camp should temporarily abandon its demands for equal military service to facilitate a change in government, Barak responded, “We don’t need to set it aside; we need to handle it wisely.”

Barak went further, arguing that the opposition’s overriding political commitment is to remove Netanyahu from office and that other campaign promises must be reconsidered if they interfere with that objective. His comments suggested that opposition leaders should be prepared to demonstrate flexibility on the draft issue if doing so would enable them to assemble a governing majority.

The former prime minister expressed confidence that Eisenkot could formulate a conscription proposal acceptable enough to the chareidi parties to secure their cooperation, even if the arrangement would not fully satisfy their demands.

“Eisenkot can propose a conscription bill that has a good chance of passing. They haredim won’t love it, but it will be fair. We don’t want to eliminate Torah study.”

Barak’s most notable concession concerned the practical limitations of the Israeli military. Rather than insisting that every eligible chareidi young man be inducted into the IDF, he acknowledged that the army lacks the capacity to absorb such a large population and proposed an alternative framework for those who do not enlist.

“Of course we need equal service, but the IDF is anyway unable to integrate all the haredim. Anyone who chooses not to draft will serve nine months, or however many, of national service, and will then go about their lives.”

Under the approach Barak outlined, chareidi men who do not enter the military would fulfill a national service obligation lasting approximately nine months, although he did not specify the nature of the service, the institutions that would administer it, or whether full-time yeshiva bochurim and kollel yungeleit would receive exemptions.

Barak also called for substantially improving the financial compensation and benefits provided to IDF soldiers, arguing that those serving in the military should receive greater recognition and material support.

At the same time, he maintained that any compromise on conscription should be accompanied by broader changes affecting the chareidi community, including increased emphasis on secular core curriculum studies, greater participation in the workforce, and expanded contributions to the tax system.