CNN
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Israel’s Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday ordering the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into military service. Since Israel’s founding, ultra-Orthodox Jews have been exempt from military service. The court also declared that the government could no longer fund religious schools (so-called yeshivas) whose students do not participate in military service.
Although both men and women are subject to conscription in Israel, the ruling only applies to ultra-Orthodox men.
The ultra-Orthodox, called “Haredim” in Hebrew, practice a form of Judaism characterized by strict religious observance and a strict lifestyle.
They make up around 14 percent of Israel’s 9.5 million inhabitants and are the fastest-growing segment of the population. Because they are disproportionately young, they make up 24 percent of Israelis of recruitable age, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.
Some do, but far fewer than most Israeli Jews. The vast majority do not perform the country’s obligatory military service.
For ultra-Orthodox men, the study of Judaism’s religious texts is not only central to their own lives, but they believe it is also important for the preservation of Judaism as a whole and even for the defense of Israel.
Torah study begins in the teens and often continues into young adulthood. It is a full-time pursuit that precludes secular study, participation in the workforce (and thus paying taxes), or military service, as most non-ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews do.
Technically, the exemption from military service applied to young men who were actively studying at a yeshiva. In practice, anyone who tells a recruiter that they are studying at a yeshiva—anyone who claims to be ultra-Orthodox—can be exempted from military service.
“The Jewish people have survived persecutions, pogroms and wars only thanks to the preservation of their uniqueness – the Torah and the Mitzvot,” said the chairman of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Tuesday, referring to the 613 commandments that govern Orthodox Jewish life.
“This is our secret weapon against all enemies, as promised by the Creator of the world. Here too, in the Jewish state, in addition to our precious fighters who sacrifice their lives against the enemies, we will continue to protect those who learn the Torah, which preserves our special power and works miracles in battle.”
Essentially, the court said that the ultra-Orthodox should not be treated differently from other Israeli Jews. The law requiring military service applies to them as well. (Palestinian citizens of Israel remain exempt from military service.)
“There is no legal framework that allows for a distinction to be made between yeshiva students and those destined for military service,” the court said in its ruling. The government “has seriously violated the rule of law and the principle that all people are equal before the law.”
The debate over whether ultra-Orthodox Jews should serve in the military is nothing new.
Their exemption is as old as the State of Israel itself – it has existed since its founding in 1948. Fifty years later, the Supreme Court overturned this long-standing ruling, telling the government that exempting the ultra-Orthodox from military service violated the principle of equal treatment. In the decades since, successive governments and Knessets (Israeli parliament) have tried to resolve the issue, only to be repeatedly told by the court that their efforts were illegal.
The government’s latest attempt to cover up the problem, which began in 2018, ended at the end of March.
Of course, on October 7, the incident took on new meaning when Hamas and other militant groups from the Gaza Strip entered the Israeli province, killing over 1,200 people and capturing hundreds.
The months that have followed have placed incredible strains on the Israeli military, particularly on reservists called up for extended deployments. Growing fears of a full-scale war with Lebanon have only added to these worries.
Ultra-Orthodox politicians argue that the fight to recruit soldiers is being used as a political weapon and that the military does not have a personnel problem. The leadership of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) takes a different view.
“We want to move forward, not because it is nice, but because it is necessary,” IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said recently. “Every battalion we set up, an ultra-Orthodox battalion, reduces the need to use many thousands of reservists thanks to conscription.”
The exemption of the ultra-Orthodox Church from military service has also fueled resentment among Israelis who have spent months separated from their families during their military service and have seen their loved ones killed. It has deepened the long-standing but growing divide between religion and secularism in Israel, especially as the ultra-Orthodox population grows.
In the short term probably very little.
Because the ultra-Orthodox practice such a strict religion, they usually serve in special forces. The Israel Defense Forces is working to expand these units, but it will take some time.
“According to the army’s calculations, 1,800 were drafted last year,” Gilad Malach, director of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel program at the Israel Democracy Institute, said after Tuesday’s ruling. “The army will have to make some changes to be able to draft them. According to the army, it can take in 4,800 next year.”
Israel’s deputy attorney general Gil Limon ordered the government on Tuesday to immediately begin recruiting another 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men. The military has already said it can accommodate the number of people to be admitted.
He also said the military must “develop and submit a recruitment plan to increase that number, given the current needs of the Army and to promote a balanced load.”
The attack could have greater consequences if it led to the collapse of the Israeli government coalition, which is quite possible.
When Netanyahu formed his governing coalition in late 2022, he included two ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – in his coalition, giving him a narrow majority.
Because yeshiva studies are so important to these parties, this ruling could have major implications.
For now, they seem to be downplaying the decision, saying they have no plans to leave the coalition. Despite the court ruling, the ultra-Orthodox parties are still trying to pass a bill in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that would enshrine the exemption into law.
Because the Israel Defense Forces does not yet have the capacity to recruit ultra-Orthodox into special forces, it is unlikely that many will be drafted in the near future. Once those draft orders are issued, the court’s order to cut off funding to yeshivas whose students refuse to serve could have a major impact – and affect whether ultra-Orthodox party leaders still believe there are benefits to being part of the government.
This story is full of endless twists and turns. It will almost certainly not be the last word.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, along with his ultra-Orthodox allies, will continue to try to pass legislation enshrining exemption from military service in law, but as the past decades have shown, there is little guarantee that they will succeed in doing so in a way that satisfies the Supreme Court.
