Israeli crisis deepens over plan to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews

(Patria) - Israel's High Court issued a ruling in a long-running dispute over military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, deepening a crisis in the government, the BBC reported.

The court ordered a freeze on funding for ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi Jewish, educational institutions whose students are eligible to be called up for conscription.
Haredi parties in the government reacted angrily, while one secular party threatened to resign over the issue. Most Israelis oppose exemptions for this population group.

The Haredi community makes up about twelve percent of the population, but those who regularly study the Torah are exempt from mandatory military service. Conscription applies to nearly all other Israelis, except Israeli Arabs, from the age of eighteen for both men and women.

The government is discussing a draft law that reportedly aims to reach a compromise by allowing exemptions with limitations. But the draft plan is strongly opposed by Haredi parties. Two of those parties, Shas and UTJ, hold eighteen seats out of the 72 that make up the majority.

On the other hand, the secular, centrist National Unity party, which has eight seats, insists that exemptions be completely abolished. Party leader Benny Gantz, a former chief of staff, has threatened to withdraw from the government over the current plan.

"The people will not tolerate it, the Knesset will not be able to vote for it, and my associates and I cannot be part of this emergency government if this law is passed," he said on Monday.

While some ultra-Orthodox Jews of military age serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the vast majority do not, dedicating their lives to studying the Torah in religious institutions or yeshivas.

The High Court ruled that funds for yeshivas whose students were eligible for conscription from July 1, 2023, when the previous deferral law expired, but who have not yet enlisted, will be frozen. It reportedly affects about 50,000 yeshiva students. The decision is set to take effect on April 1, a day after the government's deadline to draft a new law expired.

The head of UTJ, Yitzhak Goldknopf, called the ruling a "stain and a disgrace."
Critics oppose the exemption, arguing that all Jewish Israelis should serve without exception. The issue has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, in which 254 soldiers have been killed. A former advisor to Shas leader Aryeh Deri, Barak Seri, told Israeli public radio that "from the moment the court ruled, the Haredi parties were in complete shock."

"They were stunned by the ruling that funding would stop this Monday. Accusations are flying in all directions, at Likud (the party leading the government), at (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, at the far-right government, at their representatives... This is the worst situation the Haredim have ever been in," he added.