Current sectionIsrael NewsShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeUltra-Orthodox soldiers during the War of Independence. Yeshiva students were granted service deferrals "despite the severity of the situation and the need to mobilize all forces." Credit: Fred Chesnik/IDF & Defense Establishment Archive'The son of one mother is killed defending the homeland while the son of another sits safely in his room studying,' David Ben-Gurion warned. Sixty-five years later, with 63,000 yeshiva students exempt, this question still has no answerOfer Aderet12:00 PM • July 14 2026 IDT"Hello, sucker. You're serving in the IDF to protect an ultra-Orthodox draft dodger… Why? Because you're a sucker." Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Israeli politicsUltra-OrthodoxIDFIsrael High CourtShasBenjamin NetanyahuYair LapidCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Israel NewsIranMahmoud AhmadinejadLindsey GrahamRo KhannaGazaIsrael ElectionsHaQuizHaaretz PodcastMinister Seeks Pardon for Ex-soldier Convicted of Killing Wounded TerroristNew Study: Children of Female Holocaust Survivors Face Higher Schizophrenia RiskCase Closed Against Officer Suspected of Leaking Bibileaks Probe to PM's OfficeThe Israeli Who Sparked a Nation-wide LEGO CrazeEx-Netanyahu Campaigner's Revenue in Serbia Flatlines After Qatari Campaign EndsRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderThe Original Tradwives of Ancient RomeMade in Kurdistan, Smuggled via Jordan: The Mysterious Firearms Flooding IsraelEgypt Lost the World Cup. But Was the Referee Really Jewish?Inside the German pro-Israel Lobby's Campaign to Defund UNRWARo Khanna, U.S. Lawmaker & Israel Critic, Says West Bank Settlers 'Detained' Him