The Israeli Air Force announced a new technical unit for Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men at Tel Nof Airbase, based in a reinforced shelter of Squadron 106 (F-15s). Twenty soldiers — including 15 Haredi servicemen — recently completed training and qualified as Level A F-15 technicians, the military said. The unit follows two similar Haredi technician programs established at Ramat David Airbase over the past two years, as part of broader IDF efforts to integrate ultra-Orthodox men into key operational roles.
The IDF's announcement today of a new ultra-Orthodox technical unit at Tel Nof Airbase continues a pattern of integration efforts the service has been building over the past two years. As The Zioneer reported earlier today at 12:25, the Israeli Air Force opened a Haredi track at Tel Nof for the first time — the service's first at an F-15 squadron (Squadron 106). That report noted around 20 soldiers, 15 of them Haredi, enlisting with dedicated housing and facilities.
The new bulletin confirms that those 20 soldiers have now completed training and been certified as Level A F-15 technicians, meaning they can perform maintenance on the fighter jets. The unit operates from a reinforced aircraft shelter belonging to Squadron 106 at Tel Nof.
The program sits within a wider IDF push to integrate Haredi men into operational roles despite long-standing community resistance to military service. Two similar technician tracks were set up at Ramat David Airbase over the past two years. The broader context includes recent arrests of Haredi draft dodgers — over 120 were assigned to military tracks in the past two weeks, as The Zioneer reported on June 10.
No information was provided on whether this Tel Nof unit will expand beyond the current 20 soldiers.
3 developments
- DevelopingFirst Haredi draft battalion begins service at Tel Nof airbase
- DevelopingOver 120 alleged draft dodgers assigned to Haredi tracks in IDF
- StrongPolice hand over 19 Haredi draft dodgers to military police in Tel Aviv
- DevelopingTraffic police hold Haredi draft evader on Highway 85, activists call for protest
Source and signal
- Internal intake