Netzah Yehuda Battalion

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The Netzah Yehuda Battalion (also known as Nahal Haredi) is a battalion in the IDF. The purpose of the battalion is to allow Haredi Israelis to serve in the IDF in an atmosphere conducive to their religious convictions.

The battalion was founded in 1999, and originally contained only 30 soldiers. As of 2006, the battalion had grown to over 1000 soldiers, and intends to reach the threshold of a fully functioning brigade in the future. The battalion's main action area is the Jordan valley.

As the battalion runs on a voluntary basis and does not draft soldiers, it is one of the only battalions in the IDF which depends on a recruitment mechanism in order to source new troops.

The battalion runs like any other in the IDF, albeit with a far greater focus on the spiritual welfare of the soldiers. Thus, training in the battalion is identical to the rest of the IDF, with soldiers going through four months of basic training followed by an additional two months of advanced training.