Israeli supreme court rules that ultra-Orthodox Jews must be in the military

Its Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military should start drafting ultra-Orthodox soldiers to serve in the military and could result in the fall of Netanyahu’s coalition government in the event that Israel goes on…

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

Jun 25, 2024 12:46 PM

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza.

The ruling ends an era-old system which granted ultra-Orthodox people large-scale exclusions from military service, and a mandatory enlistment requirement for the nation’s non-secular Jewish majority. This arrangement, considered unfair according to critics has led to a huge divide within Israel’s Jewish majority on who will shoulder the burden of defending the country.

The court rejected a law which made exemptions legally binding in 2017, however, repeated extensions to the court and delaying tactics by the government over an alternative dragged out a resolution for several years. The court decided that in the absence of any law, Israel’s obligatory military service can be applied to ultra-Orthodox just like other citizens.

As per long-term agreements Ultra-Orthodox men are exempted from the draft which is mandatory for most Jewish females and males who serve between for three and two years, respectively in reserve duty until the age of 40.

The exemptions have been a source of resentment for the general public who are secular and an division that has increased in the war’s eight months and the military has summoned the troops of tens of thousands and has said it is in need of all the personnel it is able to get. More than 600 soldiers were killed since Hamas the attack on the 7th of October. seven attack.

These powerful, ultra-Orthodox groups that are key members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition will not support any changes to this system. If exemptions are eliminated and they are removed from the coalition, leading the government to crumble and potentially result in new elections in a period when the popularity of the party has declined.

In the current climate, Netanyahu could have a difficult time delaying the issue further or enacting laws to reinstate the exemptions. During the hearing, government lawyers informed the court that forcing ultra-Orthodox males to join the army will “tear Israeli society apart.”

A statement issued by Netanyahu’s Likud party, which is a coalition partner of Netanyahu’s, criticized the ruling and said a bill passed by the parliament that is backed by the Israeli leader will address the issue of drafts. The opposition says it isn’t enough of Israel’s requirements during wartime.

“The real solution to the draft problem is not a Supreme Court ruling,” the statement read.

In the ruling the court found it was the case that government officials were engaged in “invalid selective enforcement, which represents a serious violation of the rule of law, and the principle according to which all individuals are equal before the law.”

It didn’t specify the number of ultra-Orthodox to be included in the draft, but the military has stated that it could enlist 3000 this year.

Sixty-six ultra-Orthodox men can now be considered for enlistment According to Shuki Friedman who is an expert in the state and religions and Vice-President at the Jewish People Policy Institute, which is a Jerusalem think institute.

The decision of Israel’s top court must be followed and the military will start doing this after it comes up with a strategy to recruit thousands of people from an ethnic group that is strongly opposed to military service and has a secluded and modest way of life that the military might not be ready to accept. The army has no immediate reaction.

The court also decided that state subsidy to seminaries that exempt ultra-Orthodox men from studies should be in place. It temporarily frozen the seminary budget in the beginning of this year.

In a post on Social media site X Minister of the Cabinet Yitzhak Goldknopf who heads an ultra-Orthodox political parties that are part of the coalition, referred to the government’s decision “very unfortunate and disappointing.” He didn’t say whether his party will leave the government.

The ultra-Orthodox of Israel make up about 13 percent out of 9.9 million inhabitants. This group has an extremely high rate of birth, which makes the fastest-growing portion of the population, with approximately 4% annually. Each year, about 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men attain the age of conscription 18, but only 10% of them enlist as per the Israeli Parliament’s State Control Committee.

The ultra-Orthodox regard their complete studies in the faith as an integral contribution to guarding against the government. Many are concerned that increased contact with society outside of the military could disengage believers from observance to the strictest standards of the religion.

Ultra-Orthodox men go to seminaries that are primarily focused on the study of religion, and pay less attention paid to secular subjects such as mathematics, English or science. Many have said that they’re not prepared to join the military or to join the secular for.

Religious women are generally granted exemptions that aren’t as controversial, partly because women aren’t required to join combat units.

The court’s ruling doesn’t discuss the rights that Israel’s Palestinian citizens who aren’t required to join the military and a majority of them do not. As the descendants of Palestinians who remain in Israel after the war in 1948 which led to its establishment Their ties to the military can be strained and certain people within Israel consider them to be an element of the fifth column due to their support for Palestinians who live in Gaza in Gaza and on Gaza and the West Bank.

The ruling of Tuesday will create the conditions for a growing tensions in the coalition on the issue of the draft. Legislators who are ultra-Orthodox will endure opposition from leaders of religious faith as well as their own constituents, and could be forced decide if remaining within the government is worthwhile for them. Court rulings in the past on this issue of enlistment and threats to enlist have led to violent protests between police and ultra-Orthodox.

Friedman explained that ultra-orthodox “understand that they don’t have a better political alternative, but at same time their public is saying ‘why did we vote for you?'”

The exemptions have been the subject of several years of legal challenges, and a series of court decisions have declared the system unfair. However, Israeli leaders subject to pressure by ultraorthodox political parties and the ultra-Orthodox, have repeatedly stopped.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel that helped in the fight against exemptions, has demanded that the government immediately enlist all seminary students. “This is their legal and moral duty, especially in light of the complex security situation and the urgent need for personnel” within the army, stated Tomer Naor, head of the organization’s legal department.

Netanyahu’s coalition is bolstered by two ultra-Orthodox political parties that oppose a rise in enlistment of their members. The long-time Israeli leader has attempted to follow the rulings of the court while striving to maintain his coalition. However, with only a small majority of just 64 places in the 120-member legislature, it’s not uncommon for him to be a slave to the small parties’ favored issues.

The government could theoretically attempt to write legislation that reinstates the exemptions, but it is likely to be a political challenge given the ruling of the court.

A few conservative members in the federal government have stated they’ll only vote for the law if it includes significant amounts of ultra-Orthodox. And the legislative clock is about to run over with Knesset due to leave soon for summer vacation. The military could be forced to begin the process of drafting religious men prior to any law being put in place.

Netanyahu has been pushing an initiative proposed by the previous administration in 2022, which sought to tackle the issue by calling for a limit on ultra-Orthodox participation.

However, critics argue that the bill was created prior to conflict and isn’t doing enough to address the urgent shortage of personnel as the army tries to keep its troops on the Gaza Strip as well as prepare for war against those of the Lebanese Hezbollah group that has been fighting Israel since the conflict in Gaza started in the month of October last year.

___

AP journalist Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed to this report.