“Without Data – No Chareidi Draft”: Sharp Clash Between IDF and Education Ministry

A long-running dispute between the IDF and the Israeli Education Ministry over data on chareidi students came to a head during a session of the Knesset’s State Control Committee. Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, told lawmakers that the army has been requesting detailed information on the chareidi student population and their educational background for more than two years — but has yet to receive it.

According to Bar Kalifa, the absence of reliable figures has hindered the military’s ability to assess accurately who qualifies as chareidi and who no longer falls into that category. “The ability to make evaluations and to distinguish between chareidim and those who are no longer chareidim has been impaired,” he said, noting that the Attorney General had already instructed the ministry to share the data.

The Education Ministry rejected the IDF’s accusations, insisting that it has been cooperating fully. Ministry officials said that after receiving the request, a professional consultation was held to determine how best to extract the information. They noted that the file was only recently transferred and that processing to generate usable statistics is underway: “Once the processing is complete, the information will be passed on to the IDF,” the ministry stated.

The dispute comes amid a sweeping review of chareidi schools by the Education Ministry. Out of 850 institutions examined, 182 were found to have deficiencies. Eight schools have already been informed that their funding will be cut, while another 10 to 14 are in the process of being reclassified as “exempt institutions.” Such steps carry significant political implications, especially for Shas and United Torah Judaism, the parties that traditionally represent these schools and their supporters.