Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, a senior official in the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, declared on Wednesday morning in a discussion in the Knesset’s Subcommittee on Human Resources in the IDF that beginning on June 30, approximately 54,000 conscription orders will be sent to bnei yeshivos. “During the month of July, 54,000 summons for initial conscription will be issued, spread over the coming year until June 2026, in addition to the 24,000 orders that have already been sent,” Tayeb said. Tayeb also revealed that IDF policy has been changed in order to significantly shorten the process of declaring draft dodgers and enable the military police to carry out increased enforcement measures. He explained why it previously took five to six months until a potential recruit who did not show up was defined as a “draft dodger.” After intial summons were sent to 16.5-year-olds, they were contacted by phone to verify that they actually received their orders—a process that takes time. If the recruits did not show up at the recruitment office, residency checks were also carried out to verify that the orders were sent to the right addresses. When an “Order 12,” a warning before arrest, was issued, receipt was verified by an automatic phone call. Tayeb explained that all these steps were taken so that legally, draft dodgers couldn’t claim that they were unaware they received draft orders. Tayeb continued, “We are going to update the process of declaring evasion in relation to the entire public. The main meaning of the process is that we are transferring the responsibility for showing up to the individual. We are removing a significant part of what is called ‘awareness checks,’ that is, attempts to communicate, to make sure one hundred percent that the individual is aware [that he received an order]. This move is supposed to significantly shorten the process; the minimum time should reach approximately four months.” Tayeb added that the IDF will increase enforcement activity, including arrests, and not only at Ben Gurion Airport, in coordination with the Military Police and the Israel Police. However, he emphasized that there are limitations on the number of detention facilities, and it may not be possible to carry out enforcement measures against the entire population in short periods of time. He said, “This system is supposed to be much more significant in terms of numbers and more effective. It will not cover everything because it is a very large population that must be enforced so it will be effective but will not succeed in reaching everyone in short periods of time.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)