Israeli Supreme Court orders military conscription for ultra-orthodox Jewish students
File photo of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
In a decision that might split Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, the Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 25) mandated that the state start enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminarians in the military.
"At the height of a difficult war, the burden of inequality is more than ever acute," the court said in aunanimous ruling.
The two ultra-Orthodox parties that Netanyahu's coalition depends on see conscription exemptions as essential to keeping their members in religious seminaries and away from a military that may challenge their traditional values.
The party leaders expressed disappointment with the decision, but they did not pose a direct challenge to the government.
But the possibility that the military, supported by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, may begin to enlist the seminary students might raise tensions in Netanyahu's already fragile government.
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The ultra-Orthodox conscription waiver has gained particular attention since Israel's military forces are being overworked in a multifront conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
The country's law requires the majority of Jewish Israelis to enlist in the military at 18, serving for two years for women and three years for men.
While some do serve, members of the 21 per cent Arab minority in Israel are exempt, as are students attending ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminaries, who have also had long-standing exemptions.
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The government has continued to permit seminary students to avoid serving despite the statute regulating their exemption expiring last year.
The Supreme Court decided that the state had to draft them if there was no new legal foundation for the exemption.
In addition, the decision prohibited seminaries from receiving state funding if students withdrew from duty without permission or exception.
(With inputs from agencies)
