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Israel’s Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday ordering the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army. Since the opening of Israel, ultra-Orthodox Jews were discharged from mandatory military conscription. The court also said that the government could not invest in any religious schools (called “yeshivas”) whose students do not participate in the draft.
Although both men and women are subject to Israel’s mandatory conscription, the decision applies only to ultra-Orthodox men.
The Ultra-Orthodox, called “Haredim” in Hebrew, follow a method of Judaism that is marked through strict religious observance and strict survival.
They make up about 14% of Israel’s 9.5 million voters, and are the fastest growing branch of the public. Because they are overwhelmingly young, they make up 24% of conscription-age Israelis, according to the Israel Sovereignty Institute.
Some do, although far fewer than most Israeli Jews. The vast majority do not participate in the country’s mandatory military service.
For ultra-Orthodox men, reading Judaism’s religious texts is central not only to their own lives, but also to – they believe – the preservation of Judaism as a whole, or even the security of Israel.
Torah begins in early childhood and continues gradually into adulthood. This is a full-time job that prevents secular study, participating in workforce groups (and therefore paying taxes) – or serving in the military, as most non-ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews do.
Technically, the military carrier exemption applied to young men who were actively studying in yeshiva. In pursuance, someone who tells the recruiter that he does research on the yeshiva – someone who considers himself ultra-Orthodox – may be ejected from the carrier.
“The Jewish people survived persecutions, pogroms and wars only because of the preservation of their distinctiveness – the Torah and the mitzvot,” the head of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas festival said Tuesday in reference to the 613 commandments that rule the Orthodox Jewish moment. ”
“As the Creator of the world promised, this is our secret weapon against all enemies. Even here, in the Jewish State, along with our precious fighters who sacrifice their lives against the enemies, we will continue to protect those who learn Torah, which preserves our special power and produces miracles in battle. Is.
In short, the court said that the ultra-Orthodox cannot be treated differently from other Israeli Jews. It says the law mandating military service applies to them too. (Palestinian voters in Israel have been discharged from the carrier.)
“There is no legal framework that makes it possible to distinguish between yeshiva students and those destined for military service,” the court said in its decision. The federal government “seriously undermined the rule of law and the principle that all persons are equal before the law.”
The conflict over whether loans should be made to the ultra-Orthodox is not without precedent within the military.
Their immunity is as weak as Israel’s climate – ever since its inauguration in 1948. The Supreme Court struck down that long-standing rule 50 years later, telling the government that allowing the ultra-Orthodox to opt out of conscription violates equal policy principles. , In the decades that followed, successive governments and Knessets (the Israeli parliament) have attempted to solve the problem, only to find several times through the courts that their efforts were illegal.
The government’s battle to document the disease in the park since 2018 ended in late March.
Indeed, its significance went unchallenged on October 7, when Hamas and other militant groups crossed from Gaza and into Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, and taking large numbers captive.
The months that followed have placed incredible strain on Israel’s military, and especially on its reserves who have been called up for long tours of accountability. The growing fears of full-scale conflict with Lebanon drive these concerns the most.
Ultra-Orthodox politicians argue that the conflict is being used to lend them a political weapon, and that the military is suffering from negative manpower. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) leaders deny.
“We want to move forward, not because it is good, (but) first of all because it is necessary,” IDF leader of the workforce Herzi Halevi said recently. “Each battalion we establish, an ultra-conservative battalion, reduces the need to deploy many thousands of reserves thanks to mandatory service people.”
The ultra-Orthodox carrier exemption has also stoked resentment among Israelis who have spent months away from their families while serving in the army, and have openly witnessed family members being murdered. This has further opened up the religious-secular divide in Israel that has always existed but has increased, especially since the proportion of the people who are ultra-Orthodox is increasing.
Within the cut time period, the probability is more than negligible.
Since ultra-Orthodox people have such strict religious practices, they usually lend in special equipment. The IDF is working to expand that equipment, although the day will drag on.
“According to the army’s calculations, 1,800 people were recruited last year,” Gilad Malach, director of the ultra-Orthodox program in Israel at the Israel Sovereignty Institute, said of Tuesday’s decision. “The Army needs to make some changes to recruit them. According to the army, the army may get 4,800 next year.
Israel’s Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon on Tuesday suggested the federal government immediately begin recruiting a supplement to the 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men the army has already said it can accommodate.
He also said that “in view of the current needs of the Army and to promote equality in burden,” the Army must “develop and submit a recruitment plan to increase this number.”
The biggest impact this could have would be if it tears apart Israel’s ruling coalition, which is entirely possible.
When Netanyahu formed his working coalition in late 2022, he included two ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – to secure a slim majority.
Since information about the yeshiva is so focused on these events, this decision could have huge implications.
They appear to be downplaying the decision at the moment and announcing that they have negative plans to exit the alliance. Despite the court ruling, ultra-Orthodox parties are still trying to pass legislation in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that would enshrine the draft exemption into law.
Since the IDF does not have the capability except to draft the ultra-Orthodox into special equipment, it is not likely that many could ever be drafted quickly. Once the draft orders start going out, the court’s advice to the federal government to cancel investments of yeshivas whose scholars are unwilling to lend could have a huge impact – and will impact whether Whether or not ultra-conservative party leaders still think there are many benefits to being part of the federal government.
This story is full of never ending ups and downs. This would not be a normal promise in virtually any circumstances.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, along with its ultra-Orthodox allies, will continue to fight to pass legislation enshrining draft exemptions. However, as opportunity has confirmed over the years, there is a negligible chance that they will be able to do so in a way that satisfies the exalted court.
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