With the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas entering its fifth month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would seek ways to end exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from entering mandatory military service in the face of an ongoing war and increasing political pressure both at home and abroad.
Israel's Netanyahu says he will pave way to conscript ultra-Orthodox https://t.co/KRbvHvwyhX pic.twitter.com/azAZMjlpCn
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"We will determine goals for conscripting ultra-Orthodox people to the IDF and national civil service," Netanyahu said at a press conference, referring to the Israel Defence Forces. "We will also determine the ways to implement those goals."
The Israeli Supreme Court voided a law in 2018 that would waive the draft for ultra-Orthodox men, arguing that the burden of military service should be shared across all sections of Israeli society.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, failed to come up with a new arrangement as the government-issued stay on mandatory conscription for the ultra-Orthodox is set to expire this March.
As more and more Israelis are drafted into the military amid the war in #Gaza, an issue that has long stoked debate is turning increasingly bitter and divisive – an exemption to military service for the country’s roughly 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox Jews pic.twitter.com/k5X1O6V2mZ
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Ultra-Orthodox political parties have helped Netanyahu hold a narrow parliamentary majority alongside far-right, ultranationalist parties. But in the past, they have made draft exemption a condition for remaining in the coalition.
Netanyahu also appeared to be responding to a pledge made by his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, to veto a law that would continue the exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews unless the government agrees to pave the way for their enlistment.
"We recognize and support those who dedicate their life to studying Jewish holy scripture but, with that, without physical existence, there is no spiritual existence," the Israeli defense minister said on February 28th.
The exemptions given to the ultra-Orthodox have been a longstanding source of friction with more secular citizens now stoked by Israel’s ongoing and costly mobilization for the war with Hamas.
The ultra-Orthodox argue they have the right to study in seminaries instead of serving in uniform for the standard three years. Some say their pious lifestyles would clash with the military, while others voice opposition to the secular Jewish state.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 13% of Israel’s population, a figure expected to reach 19% by 2035 due to their high birth rates. Some economists argue that their draft exemption unnecessarily keeps them out of the workforce.
