Dozens of Haredi youths on Monday arrived at the induction center near Tel Aviv after months of preparation for military service held by the Shachar organization.
On December 13, 2018, a shooting attack was carried out at the entrance to Givat Asaf near Beit El in Samaria, where an Arab terrorist got out of a vehicle and shot and killed two Haredi IDF soldiers. It appears that the murder may have increased the motivation of Haredi youths to enlist.
Shachar (an acronym for “Shiluv (integrating) Haredim”) is an IDF initiative to integrate Haredi soldiers in office functions during their compulsory service. This is in contrast to the Netzach Yehuda track, which is the combat version of Haredi integration in the IDF. The first Shachar group enlisted in November 2007. The men who enlist in Shachar were eligible to avoid the service as Torah students.
The program is intended for Haredi men who are required to enlist, including single men ages 22-28 and married men ages 20-28. About half of married men are fathers of children and therefore are entitled, according to the IDF’s conditions of service, to family stipends and rent during their service.
The service preparation included lectures on the nature of the service, days of simulated scouting and hikes in enemy territory, as well as ascending to Masada, in order to reach the required level of fitness for military service.
The commander of the Tomer Company in the Givati Brigade, Captain Chai Asulin, who is expected to command the Haredi recruits, enlightened the new soldiers about the history of the company.
“The brigade provides the best leaders for the Haredi recruits,” Asulin said. “Some of the commanders are Haredi graduates of the Tomer track, which the brigade saw as having the potential for leadership and the ability to bring up first class leaders and fighters.”
The commander of the Chetz (Arrow) Haredi Company in the Paratroopers Brigade, Captain Shimon Moyal, met the designated recruits on the journey to the summit of Masada, and said, “In recent years, hundreds of Haredim have enlisted in the Paratroopers Brigade and are an integral part of the brigade’s fighters, while complying with all the parameters required by the red berets.”
The Haredi Chetz company holds posts in all the IDF areas of operation, and contributes to strengthening the defense layout of the ground forces,” Moyal said.