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Ynet: No US draft in over 50 years, but automatic registration raises fears of change

On 10 April 2026, Ynet, a major Israeli news site, published in Hebrew יותר מ-50 שנה לא היה גיוס חובה בארה"ב. הצעד הזה מעורר חשש משינוי. The byline is דניאל אדלסון, ניו יורק, Daniel Edelson in New York. An American family should care because the article is about the list the government keeps in case a draft comes back, and about mothers who fear their sons could be called up for the war with Iran. Selective Service is that list: men aged 18 to 25 register so the government has their names if Congress ever restarts conscription. Ynet says registration is not itself a draft.

Background for new readers: On 28 February 2026 the United States and Israel began a joint air war on Iran. The Pentagon calls its part Operation Epic Fury; Israel calls its part Operation Roaring Lion. It came eight months after a shorter war in June 2025, when US bombers hit Iran's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The question running through this section is whether the air war turns into American soldiers fighting on Iranian soil. This article is filed under Reserves, Guard, and the Draft; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. Ynet reports a signed change in how names get onto the Selective Service list, and it reports what White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News: a draft is not part of the current plan, and the president keeps his options open. The judgment that a ground invasion of Iran would require a draft is the expert view Ynet reports.

What the article says​

Ynet says that starting in December the United States will automatically register young men for the military-service pool. It says the change ends a policy of decades, and that it comes during the ongoing war with Iran and with possible conflicts with Russia and China in the background. It says there has been no draft since 1973, and that the force is made of paid volunteers. The law, Ynet says, still requires men aged 18 to 25 to be in the database in case a draft is ordered again.

Ynet says failing to register has been treated as a crime, in theory punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to 250,000 dollars, and loss of access to federal jobs or student aid. It says non-registration can also block a non-citizen from later citizenship. It says the new rule shifts the work from the young man to a government agency that will pull data from federal databases. It says the automatic process is expected to include permanent residents, undocumented immigrants, and asylum seekers. It says proposals to add women never passed.

Ynet says President Donald Trump signed the change as part of the defense budget, and that officials also planned it because the military has had trouble recruiting. It says government figures put registration compliance at a low of 81 percent in 2024, meaning about one in five did not register, and at 42 percent among 18-year-olds. It says most states already tie registration to a driver's license. It says conscientious objectors, only sons, and men with medical limits usually still must register. Exemptions, deferments, and classification, it says, are decided only if a draft is actually turned on.

Representative Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is quoted in support. Ynet says she argues automatic registration would save millions spent on awareness campaigns and would free that money for military readiness. It says she described the old system as outdated, and the goal as managing personnel, not only mass conscription.

The fear, Ynet says, comes from the timing. The new rules were sent to the budget office for review at the end of March, during the war with Iran. On Fox News, Leavitt was asked about American mothers who fear their sons will be drafted for the war.

לוויט סירבה לשלול את האפשרות לחלוטין והצהירה כי הנשיא טראמפ ״שומר בחוכמה רבה את כל האפשרויות פתוחות".

That is Ynet's sentence, 10 April 2026. A photo caption on the same page shortens her line: the president wisely keeps all the options open. Ynet then reports her denial. She said sending ground forces into Iran is not part of the current plan, and that Trump wants to judge how the current military operation is going before he makes further decisions.

Ynet also says Trump himself publicly dismissed sending ground forces and called it a waste of time. It says other reports indicate that in private talks he expressed serious interest in such a move. It does not name those reports. It then gives the expert judgment quoted in the page data above: Iran's size and its army are serious obstacles, and a ground invasion would not be logistically possible without turning the draft machinery back on.

Ynet says restarting that machinery would take special approval and a change in law by Congress. It says the United States has used a draft six times, the last in the Vietnam War, when about 1.8 million Americans were called up. It says decades of polling show deep public opposition, shaped by Vietnam and by a preference for a professional volunteer force.

What other reporting adds​

The English headline. In English, the headline reads: "For more than 50 years there has been no conscription in the US. This step raises fears of a change." (This page's translation.)

Leavitt's words in English. PolitiFact printed the fuller Fox News answer from March: "It has been, and it will continue to be, and President Donald Trump, wisely, does not remove options off of the table. I know a lot of politicians like to do that quickly, but the president, as commander in chief, wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation. It's not part of the current plan right now, but the president, again, wisely keeps his options on the table." (PolitiFact, 9 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t48__v574.md). PolitiFact summarized that "Leavitt did not say a draft was under consideration."

What draft experts said. Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told PolitiFact: "There is no way that there will be a draft in this war." Task & Purpose headlined its piece "It only took 2 weeks for the Iran war to cause a draft scare," with the deck "It's very unlikely." (Task & Purpose, 10 March 2026; research captures: twitter/t48__v565.md, twitter/t48__v574.md).

The December date, in other hands. An X user writing as AJ Signal later listed the US line of a 23-country draft-law roundup as "Automatic Selective Service registration for ALL MEN 18 to 26 operational December 2026" (quoted post by @aj_geo_analysis, 7 September 2026; research capture: twitter/t48__v568.md). The captures did not open the defense bill text. Ynet's report of the change is the stronger source.

The law and its limits, per X's trending summaries. An X trending page in March summarized the change as part of the FY2026 defense bill, signed in December 2025, and said the law "does not reinstate a draft, which would need separate approval." A reply on the page noted: "This was passed 2 months before conflict in Iran and doesn't take affect until December 18 2026." (X trending page, March 2026; research capture: twitter/t54__v646.md). A July trending page about a Selective Service "readiness simulation" reported by Military Times said: "Officials stress it's routine planning with no active draft—requiring Congress and the president to activate one." (X trending page, 25 July 2026; research capture: twitter/t54__v646.md). Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, posted the same week: "Don't draft our kids for your stupid world war 3." (research capture: twitter/t54__v646.md).

What it shows​

Ynet, writing in Hebrew for Israeli readers, explained what an American draft would take, and why a ground invasion of Iran would need one. The machinery is being built ahead of any order: automatic registration from December 2026, the Individual Ready Reserve redefined as "a mobilization asset," and a Selective Service readiness simulation (Reserves, Guard, and the Draft). The White House answer to American mothers was that a draft is "not part of the current plan right now," with options kept open. See Troop Math.

Check it yourself​

The English spelling Daniel Edelson for the Hebrew byline is from his Hebrew Wikipedia entry, https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/דניאל_אדלסון . The Fox News interview was not opened separately. This page was not checked against the defense-budget text.

Status: Daniel Edelson is alive. Karoline Leavitt is alive. Donald Trump is alive. Chrissy Houlahan is alive. This page reports what Ynet says they said or supported. It does not accuse them of a crime.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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