How Many Haredi Men Join the Israeli Army? 1,266 Enlisted in 2022
1,266 Haredi men enlisted in the IDF in 2022, on the IDF’s own count. It gives no figure for 2023 or 2024 and no count of Haredi men serving.
1,266 Haredi men enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in the 2022 enlistment year, on the IDF’s own count released on 5 July 2026. The Israel Defense Forces counted them under the Defence Service Law’s definition from before its Haredi chapter expired. Under that definition, a man counts as Haredi if he studied for two years between the ages of 14 and 18 in a Haredi institution. The figure counts men enlisting in one year, July 2022 to June 2023, and not Haredi men in uniform at any one time.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,266 | Haredi men enlisting, the IDF’s own count, on the statutory schooling definition | Israel Defense Forces | Enlistment year 2022 |
| 1,185 | The same count, same definition | Israel Defense Forces | Enlistment year 2021 |
| 652 | Haredi men enlisting after holding the Torato Omanuto yeshiva deferral, the IDF’s own count; overlaps the 1,266 | Israel Defense Forces | Enlistment year 2022 |
| 8,525 | Haredi men entering the deferral, by first application, the IDF’s own count | Israel Defense Forces | Calendar year 2022 |
| Not given | Haredi enlistment for the 2023 and 2024 cohorts, refused under section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Law | Israel Defense Forces | 2023 and 2024 |
| 76,800 | 18-year-old men in the cohort, all population groups, average | Knesset Research and Information Centre | 2022 |
| 67% to 69% | Men’s enlistment rate, share of the whole men’s cohort | Knesset Research and Information Centre | Enlistment years 2020 to 2022 |
The IDF counted 1,266 Haredi enlistees in 2022
The Israel Defense Forces recorded between 1,185 and 1,266 Haredi enlistees a year across the enlistment years 2019 to 2022. These are the IDF’s own counts, under the statutory schooling definition. Each figure counts men enlisting in that year, and the IDF states that it does not separate out men who have since left Haredi life, so they are included.
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published separate cohort figures in April 2024, drawn from IDF and Central Bureau of Statistics data. It puts the 2022 cohort of 18-year-old men at 76,800 on average, across all population groups. Its men’s enlistment rate was 67% to 69% in the enlistment years 2020 to 2022, against 54.6% to 55.5% for women. Those are figures for all men in the cohort, and the 1,266 is not a share of them.
583 of the 1,266 studied two years in a Haredi institution
583 of the 1,266 enlistees in 2022 qualified as Haredi through two years in a unique cultural (Haredi) institution, on the IDF’s own breakdown. The Israel Defense Forces published two splits of the same 1,266, one by institution and one by years of study, and each sums to the total. The test is years of study in named institutions, not self-identification.
| Years in a qualifying institution | Enlistees, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Two years | 236 |
| Three years | 323 |
| Four years or more | 552 |
| From the deferral arrangement | 155 |
Source: Israel Defense Forces, own count, enlistment year 2022. The rows sum to 1,266.
652 enlisted from the Torato Omanuto deferral in 2022
652 Haredi men enlisted in 2022 after holding the Torato Omanuto deferral for yeshiva study, on the IDF’s own count of every enlistee who had ever held it. The Israel Defense Forces also counted men entering the deferral, by calendar year of first application: 8,525 in 2022, and 53,824 across 2018 to 2023.
| Enlistment year | Haredi enlistees who had held the deferral |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 454 |
| 2020 | 511 |
| 2021 | 630 |
| 2022 | 652 |
Source: Israel Defense Forces, own count, enlistment years 2019 to 2022.
The 2023 figure covers half a year, because the arrangement expired on 30 June 2023. The IDF adds that many men likely applied early ahead of the expiry. It gives no figure for 2024.
The IDF gives no Haredi enlistment count for 2023 or 2024
The Israel Defense Forces stated in July 2026 that it cannot give Haredi enlistment for the 2023 and 2024 cohorts. Its own count rests on Ministry of Education reports of years of study, and those reports had not been transferred since the law’s Haredi chapter expired. The IDF refused that part of the request under section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Law.
Neither the IDF response nor the Knesset Research and Information Centre paper carries:
- A Haredi enlistment count for the 2023, 2024 or 2025 enlistment years.
- A count of Haredi men serving in the IDF at a given date.
- A count of Haredi enlistees by unit, including combat units.
- A deferral-entry figure for 2024.
The IDF series ends with enlistment year 2022, which ran from July 2022 to June 2023.
Which of these Haredi counts may not be added together?
None of the IDF series may be added to another, because each counts on its own basis. All are the IDF’s own counts. The enlistment figures use the statutory schooling definition, and the deferral figures count first applications.
- The 1,266 and the 652 overlap. The 155 inside the 1,266 are deferral holders not already counted through a schooling route; the 652 counts every 2022 enlistee who had ever held the deferral, many of them inside the schooling routes. The IDF says so in its own footnote.
- The 8,525 counts first applications in calendar year 2022, a different event in a different kind of year, and may not be set against the 652.
- The annual enlistment figures may not be summed into a number of Haredi men in uniform.
- The Knesset Research and Information Centre’s 76,800 and 67% to 69% cover all men in the cohort and are not a denominator for the 1,266.
Questions readers ask
Who counts as Haredi in the IDF’s enlistment figures?
The Israel Defense Forces counted as Haredi any man who studied for two years between the ages of 14 and 18 in a Haredi institution. That is the definition in the Defence Service Law from before its Haredi chapter expired.
How many Haredi men enlisted in 2021?
The Israel Defense Forces counted 1,185 Haredi enlistees in the 2021 enlistment year, on its own count and the statutory schooling definition.
Did Haredi enlistment change between 2019 and 2022?
The Israel Defense Forces recorded 1,222 Haredi enlistees in 2019, 1,193 in 2020, 1,185 in 2021 and 1,266 in 2022, on its own count.
Do the figures include men who have left Haredi life?
Yes. The Israel Defense Forces states that it does not distinguish men who have left Haredi life, so its schooling-based count includes them.
How many of the 2022 Haredi enlistees had studied four years or more?
The Israel Defense Forces counted 552 of the 1,266 enlistees in 2022 as having studied four years or more in a qualifying institution.
How many Haredi men entered the yeshiva deferral?
The Israel Defense Forces recorded 53,824 Haredi men entering the Torato Omanuto deferral across the calendar years 2018 to 2023, by year of first application, on its own count.
Why is the 2023 deferral figure lower?
The Israel Defense Forces counted 8,342 entries in 2023, a figure covering six months, because the arrangement expired on 30 June 2023.
Why does the IDF give no figure for 2023 or 2024?
The Israel Defense Forces stated that its count rests on Ministry of Education study reports that had not been transferred since the law expired. It refused that part of the request under section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Law.
How many Haredi soldiers are serving now?
The Israel Defense Forces published annual enlistment counts in this response, not a count of Haredi men serving at any one time.
How many Haredi men serve in combat units?
The Israel Defense Forces published no breakdown of Haredi enlistees by unit in its July 2026 response, so it gives no combat-unit figure.
How many 18-year-old men are in an Israeli cohort?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre put the 2022 cohort of 18-year-old men at 76,800 on average, across all population groups.
What share of all men enlist?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded a men’s enlistment rate of 67% to 69% of the whole men’s cohort in the enlistment years 2020 to 2022.
When did the IDF release these figures?
The Israel Defense Forces issued its freedom-of-information response on 5 July 2026, answering a request made on 7 January 2025.
Sources
- Israel Defense Forces, 2026. Response to a freedom-of-information request on Haredi enlistment in the IDF. General Staff, IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Freedom of Information Section, 5 July 2026. https://www.idf.il/media/jgeipuzr/מענה-לבקשה-בנושא-גיוס-חרדים-לצהל.pdf. Official or primary record, in Hebrew.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2024. Draft-Liable 18-Year-Olds and Enlistment Rates by Population Group, Update. 4 April 2024. https://fs.knesset.gov.il/globaldocs/MMM/2e7046f7-7df2-ee11-8162-005056aa4246/2_2e7046f7-7df2-ee11-8162-005056aa4246_11_20527.pdf. Official or primary record, in Hebrew.
