First 15 Hasmonean Brigade Officers Mark a New Stage for Haredi Service
Fifteen soldiers completed the Hasmonean Brigade’s first officers’ course on October 20, 2026, giving the IDF formation for Haredi men its first graduates from a dedicated officer training program. Their commissions followed eight months of training and a ceremony on the roof of the Western Wall Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met the cadets near the Western Wall that day and welcomed the milestone. For a brigade built to combine combat service with an observant Haredi lifestyle, the graduation opens a further route: soldiers can now progress through its own training framework into operational command.
Zamir welcomes a new generation of commanders
Zamir told the cadets they were “making history and breaking new ground,” in remarks released by the military. He described the Haredi community as an inseparable part of Israeli society and emphasized the importance of their success to the IDF and the people of Israel.
His message also addressed their military responsibilities. The graduates were already participating in operational activity, he said, and could be assigned defensive and offensive missions, including maneuvering operations. He presented them as partners in developing the Hasmonean Brigade into a strong infantry formation capable of carrying out its assigned missions.
Eight months of combat and command training
The course combined field instruction, command skills and operational experience. Cadets practiced navigation and fire support before moving into the Gefen phase of their professional training, which included combat in open terrain and built areas, leading troops and operational exercises.
They also joined a live fire training series and the Northern Arrow exercise alongside cadets from the general Gefen track at Bahad 1, the IDF officers’ school. During their training, the Hasmonean cadets took part in operational activity in Lebanon and Judea and Samaria. Their preparation therefore included experience beyond the training grounds.
Religious observance within the officers’ course
The military said Bahad 1 provided full professional supervision and that the course covered the standard officer training content. The arrangements for daily life included strict kosher food standards, designated time for prayer and Torah study, and a separate environment for men.
Those conditions were part of the framework for integrating Haredi soldiers into IDF service. In an account published by the IDF, an instructor explained that the course had to build a suitable logistical framework while ensuring its graduates could operate with the same professional military language as other officers.
From the brigade’s founding to its first commissions
The IDF gives January 5, 2025, as the brigade’s formal establishment date in a written response released under freedom of information procedures. Its first intake that day included 50 recruits for regular service, with another 100 older Haredi men joining its first reserve company.
The October graduating class brought together soldiers who began their careers in the brigade and advanced within it, alongside Haredi soldiers from other units who had served as squad commanders. This mix gives the new command group both experience from within the formation and knowledge gained elsewhere in the IDF.
The next step for Haredi enlistment
The new officers are expected to return to command positions within the Hasmonean Brigade. Selection for the next officers’ course has already begun, with the course scheduled to open in November.
The milestone’s practical importance lies in continuity. The brigade offers a route into combat service, while its officer program creates a path for some of those soldiers to lead later intakes. As Israel works to expand Haredi enlistment in response to military personnel needs, the first 15 graduates provide a concrete example of professional advancement within a framework designed to preserve religious observance.
