Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army, according to CNN.
The court also ordered the government to stop funding any religious schools, or yeshivas, whose students did not comply with the draft notices.
The government wanted to distinguish at the level of law enforcement between individuals based on their group affiliation. It was determined that by doing so, the government seriously harmed the rule of law and the principle according to which all individuals are equal before the law.
Ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi) Jews have been exempt from compulsory national military service since the founding of Israel. And Palestinian citizens of Israel are also exempt. Ultra-Orthodox men spend much of their early lives out of work, devoted entirely to religious studies. They believe that yeshivas are fundamental to the preservation of Judaism and as important to the defence of Israel as the army.
According to recent polls, most Israelis believe that ultra-Orthodox men should serve in the army. However, Haredi parties are strongly opposed to attempts to abolish the exemption from conscription. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government coalition is backed by two Haredi parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas.
For weeks he has been trying to get a bill through the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, that would enshrine in law the draft exemption for Haredi men.
The decision comes at a critical time for the country, with the government losing any semblance of wartime solidarity earlier this month when Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, left Netanyahu’s military cabinet.
Unresolved issue
And while Israel’s military leaders have publicly denounced the shortage of manpower, the decision is unlikely to result in large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men joining the army anytime soon. Eliad Shraga, chair of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, stated:
The Supreme Court ruling puts an end to 76 years of unlawful inequality and discrimination. We will no longer agree to the absurd situation where there are those who give to the state, contribute and even risk their lives, and there are those who do nothing.
In response, Netanyahu‘s Likud Party stated that the law remained “the real solution to the conscription problem,” not “a High Court ruling.” However, Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas Party, condemned the decision:
Even here, in the Jewish state, alongside our precious fighters who sacrifice their lives against the enemies, we will continue to guard those who learn the Torah, which preserves our special power and creates miracles in battle. Whoever tried to disconnect the people of Israel from the Torah in the past failed miserably.
Although the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is now legally obliged to conscript Haredi men, military leaders say they are not prepared to do so en masse. Ultra-Orthodox men, who already serve in small numbers in the army, have special religious requirements and therefore usually serve in special units. Gilad Malach, director of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel programme at the Israel Democracy Institute, said:
According to the calculations of the army, there were 1,800 that were conscripted last year. The army needs to do some change in order to conscript them. According to the army, next year the army can receive 4,800. (…) We are in a very, very problematic political situation for the [ruling] coalition – for the Haredim, and for Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon instructed the government to immediately begin recruiting an additional 3,000 ultra-Orthodox on Tuesday. He also stated that “in light of the current needs of the army and to promote equality in the burden,” the military should “develop and present a recruitment plan to increase this number.”
