War with Hezbollah in Lebanon officially began today, with Israel alerting its population in the weeks before to stock up on food and water, and to anticipate power outages. The majority of the population in the north is already relocated with the sober announcement that it may be over a year before populations can return. The front with Lebanon has been active since the October 7 Hamas invasion but has escalated in both magnitude and frequency of attacks in recent months. Many nations have already recalled their ambassadors and told remaining nationals to leave Lebanon, including Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain.

Pray that Israel, already stretched in both IDF personnel and weaponry, will call on the name of Lord and so be saved from her enemies (Ps.18:3). Pray for Benjamin Netanyahu and the other military leaders to have supernatural strategies in order to wage war and strength for the battle (Ps.118:14-17).

This week the Israel Supreme Court ruled that the Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men must be conscripted into the IDF and that the government would no longer financially support these yeshiva students of military age. These men had been exempted by a law which expired in June 2023.

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The immediate reaction from the Haredi Knesset members has been outrage, but with no threat to topple the government. The issue threatens to derail Netanyahu’s government as the ultra-Orthodox parties continue to hold the position which can be summarized by the famous slogan often seen at Haredi demonstrations: “We would rather die than enlist.”

All Israel News quoted Education Minister Yoav Gallant as stating, “This year we need to recruit 3,000 ultra-Orthodox, it must happen, and the law must guarantee it… I say in the clearest way, I will not give up significant recruiting for the ultra-Orthodox in favor of what the IDF needs.”

The All Israel News Editorial Board wrote this:

The current war, the longest Israel has experienced since its Independence War in 1948, has seen the culmination of a trend toward burdening an ever-shrinking part of the population with the heavy burden of service in the IDF.

In addition to the initial three years of service, this also means decades of reserve duty.

And just as hundreds of thousands of families have been shouldering this burden – the men losing their jobs while defending the country, their businesses suffering losses and going bankrupt, and their spouses, children, and other relatives dying during military service – the government appears intent on further increasing their load.

It is important to note that no one in Israel is exempt from IDF recruitment in wartime. Several Knesset members, the equivalent of our elected representatives, have gone to war. Hananya Naftali, the one-man pro-Israel social media influencer has just left for the IDF.

Pray for the Haredi community to obey the law and to enter fully into their roles as warriors for their homeland. Pray that each leader of the Haredi community would see how important unity is to the survival of the nation at this time. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again (Ez.37:22 and Ps.133).

Lori Meed is a leader on IFA’s Headline Prayer Live and an IFA contributing writer. In 2004, God moved her family from Canada to the U.S., imparting to them His heart for this country and for revival. Having walked out her own journey of freedom after being radically born again in 1992, Lori has a heart to see others set free to walk fully in their destiny. She is also passionate about teaching on aliyah (“going up,” the return of the Jews to the land of Israel), the feasts of the Lord, and the rich connections of the gentile churches to Israel. Photo credit: Israel flags protest by shavnya.com on Unsplash. For more information, check out AllIsrael.com.