Key Points
- Men in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community have historically received exemptions from military service.
- The High Court decision comes as Israel continuess its attacks on Gaza and prepares for potential fighting in Lebanon.
- Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 13 percent of Israel’s population of nearly 10 million.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists have been deployed to Gaza, the occupied West Bank and along the northern border with Lebanon since militants led by Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.
Israeli’s government divided on ultra-Orthodox drafting
Ultra-Orthodox politician Yitzhak Goldknopf, United Torah Judaism party leader, criticised what he called “an expected but very unfortunate and disappointing decision”.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli military reservists have been deployed to Gaza since October 2023. Source: AAP / Christophe Petit Tesson
Shas, a religious party that is one of the largest partners in the ruling coalition, also slammed the court ruling.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said it meant “no more exemptions”, calling on the defence ministry “to uphold the law and issue tens of thousands of draft orders for young … men who evaded military service until now”.
Some members of Netanyahu’s party have stated they will vote against the draft bill in its current form.