Outlets reporting on a 'severe manpower shortage in the Israeli military'—despite record-high enlistment figures for IDF combat roles
Lior Ben Ari
YNET NEWS
AUGUST 22, 2024
Arab media outlets have been closely monitoring the situation in Israel during the war, recently focusing on the ultra-Orthodox protests against conscription into the IDF.
On Wednesday, Arab media reported that these protests were expanding, and videos of violent clashes between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police near the Jerusalem IDF draft office were widely circulated online.
Al Jazeera reported a "severe manpower shortage in the Israeli army" and noted that "a religious Jew called the police 'Nazis.'" They explained that the clashes stemmed from summons sent to ultra-Orthodox men for conscription and that several protests had taken place in recent weeks, although they neglected to say that the protesters were from extreme factions within the ultra-Orthodox community.
The report added that, despite thousands of summons being issued, only a few dozen ultra-Orthodox men actually showed up at the conscription centers. Similarly, the Lebanese network Al Mayadeen, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, emphasized reports that only seven ultra-Orthodox men showed up at the draft offices on Wednesday. The network included footage of the protests and confrontations, focusing on chants like "To prison, not to the army" and "We will die before we enlist."
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Despite Al Jazeera's report, the IDF released conscription data on Thursday for July-August, showing record motivation for combat roles among both men and women. "The overwhelming majority of units recorded very high enlistment rates, enabling rapid reinforcement of unit readiness for upcoming missions," the IDF stated. Notably, high enlistment figures were reported for men in border infantry units (130%), air defense (131%), and combat intelligence (120%), as well as for women in artillery units (159%), rescue and evacuation (133%), and combat intelligence (128%). Overall enlistment rates exceeded 100% across all branches.
Al Mayadeen correspondent Ali Mortada went further, inviting the ultra-Orthodox community to leave Israel and move to Lebanon. In a post on his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "Hello, my enemies. A message to the Jewish Haredim—keep going." Alongside this caption, he also shared a video, calling them to relocate to southern Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent Ali Mortada
(Video: X)
The Arabic channel Al-Rad also covered the events at the Jerusalem draft office, noting that "only 70 Haredim have shown up since the summonses began." They added that "the Israeli army intends to enlist 10,000 Haredim," and that "they refuse to join the Israeli army."
Arab media outlets have been closely monitoring the situation in Israel during the war, recently focusing on the ultra-Orthodox protests against conscription into the IDF.
On Wednesday, Arab media reported that these protests were expanding, and videos of violent clashes between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police near the Jerusalem IDF draft office were widely circulated online.
Al Jazeera reported a "severe manpower shortage in the Israeli army" and noted that "a religious Jew called the police 'Nazis.'" They explained that the clashes stemmed from summons sent to ultra-Orthodox men for conscription and that several protests had taken place in recent weeks, although they neglected to say that the protesters were from extreme factions within the ultra-Orthodox community.
The report added that, despite thousands of summons being issued, only a few dozen ultra-Orthodox men actually showed up at the conscription centers. Similarly, the Lebanese network Al Mayadeen, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, emphasized reports that only seven ultra-Orthodox men showed up at the draft offices on Wednesday. The network included footage of the protests and confrontations, focusing on chants like "To prison, not to the army" and "We will die before we enlist."
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Despite Al Jazeera's report, the IDF released conscription data on Thursday for July-August, showing record motivation for combat roles among both men and women. "The overwhelming majority of units recorded very high enlistment rates, enabling rapid reinforcement of unit readiness for upcoming missions," the IDF stated. Notably, high enlistment figures were reported for men in border infantry units (130%), air defense (131%), and combat intelligence (120%), as well as for women in artillery units (159%), rescue and evacuation (133%), and combat intelligence (128%). Overall enlistment rates exceeded 100% across all branches.
Al Mayadeen correspondent Ali Mortada went further, inviting the ultra-Orthodox community to leave Israel and move to Lebanon. In a post on his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "Hello, my enemies. A message to the Jewish Haredim—keep going." Alongside this caption, he also shared a video, calling them to relocate to southern Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent Ali Mortada
(Video: X)
The Arabic channel Al-Rad also covered the events at the Jerusalem draft office, noting that "only 70 Haredim have shown up since the summonses began." They added that "the Israeli army intends to enlist 10,000 Haredim," and that "they refuse to join the Israeli army."
Arab media outlets, particularly those affiliated with terrorist organizations and the Shiite-Lebanese axis, are exploiting these reports of internal Israeli struggles to their advantage, using them to purportedly demonstrate Israel's "fragility." Even Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has previously referenced the ultra-Orthodox issue, remarking in March that "after five months, the 'great' Israeli army is rotating officers and soldiers." He continued with a smile, saying, "In Israel, they want to enlist Haredim," explaining that "they sit in schools, receive state benefits, and only study—they don't enlist."
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