Full text: IDF chief’s letter to Netanyahu, Katz against freezing Haredi enlistment

The following is the full text of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chair Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, on July 12, 2026. This Times of Israel translation retains the original document’s format and wording.

Subject: IDF objection to the “committee” to examine the status of yeshiva students within the framework of adjusting the security service law

Today, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the bill on the subject at hand, ahead of a second and third reading in the Knesset plenum.

As you know, the change in law seeks to establish a special arrangement for yeshiva students according to which arrests, investigations, or enforcement measures will not be taken against them for a period of seven months, which is expected to be extended in light of the coming election period.

The bill was introduced in the midst of a multi-front campaign, and at a time when the IDF is facing a sharp gap in the area of manpower, which directly influences its ability to meet operational missions.

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The IDF’s professional position relating to the bill was presented in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee by the head of the IDF Planning and Manpower Administration Division, and this occurred during a number of deliberations held by the committee. As was clarified, not only is the bill not expected to bring additional personnel to military service in the short term, but rather the opposite — it will provide an incentive to not report for military service, as, due to it, there will be an exemption from prosecution and criminal proceedings. As such, the bill does not match IDF needs, and that is quite clear and unequivocal.

It is also established within the framework of the bill that an IDF committee of three senior officers will be set up, which will be authorized to examine the status of yeshiva students and to approve them for the status of “yeshiva student” for the purposes of the law. After examination of the bill, I want to express my firm objection to this mechanism in the bill, and that is for three central reasons:

Damage to legitimization and trust of those in service — The IDF is these days using all the means at its disposal to expand those in its service — this, by means of a broad call-up of reservists, examination of lengthening regular service, and maximum utilization of all sources of manpower. It cannot be that the military system under my authority, which demands of those in its service unprecedented sacrifice, will simultaneously be entrusted with providing mass exemptions from prosecution. Such a process will create a deep rift with those in the service arm, who have carried the burden of combat for some two and a half years, and will increase the disparity.

Absence of a professional advantage — The IDF has no relative advantage, tools, or expertise in examining the criteria to exempt as defined in the new bill, in particular regarding a completely technical examination on the basis of affidavits and their verification, and not a material examination.

Diversion of attention and manpower in the midst of war — In light of the tremendous challenges placed at the IDF’s door, and against the backdrop of continued warfare, placing this complicated, controversy-riddled task on the IDF in the coming months will be a heavy organizational burden, and will divert critical command attention from operational missions.

In light of all that has been said, with the bill expected to pass, I ask you to act without delay to remove the committee mechanism as is proposed in the bill.

Regards,

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir

Chief of the General Staff