FADC Chairman Boaz Bismuth said he pushed to approve the extension after Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was necessary for the country's national security.

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday extended the emergency draft order for 280,000 IDF reservists until January 1.

FADC Chairman Boaz Bismuth said he pushed to approve the extension after Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was necessary for the country's national security.

However, the extension passed just as two counter trends were blowing up on different fronts for Bismuth and the government.

On one front, the war ended over two months ago, and while there is intermittent low-grade fighting in Gaza, Lebanon, and, more occasionally, Syria, it was unclear why so many soldiers (nearly double the routine standing army volume) would be necessary.

In fact, Katz recently issued a statement that he had concluded with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that the number of reservist service days that will need to be paid for in 2026 can be dropped from 60 days per soldier to 40 days per soldier.

This would seem to suggest that there is less need for keeping an emergency draft in play for so many reservists.

Bismuth bill seen entrenching haredi draft exemptions

On another front, Bismuth is trying to lead the way to pass a new bill that critics say will only slightly increase the number of haredim enlisting in the IDF and will mostly serve to make their exemption from military service permanent.

In light of the large volume of IDF soldiers who died during the last two years of war, opposition figures lashed out at Bismuth over approving extending reserve duty for most other sectors of the population, while seemingly extending the exemption for many haredim.