Amid concerns that the Middle East war may worsen, Israel has called up ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the armed forces for the first time.
The Israel Defence Forces have sent draft notices to call up 1,000 men from the devout Haredi community to bolster the army’s ranks—the first of 3,000 to be conscripted in the coming weeks.
It comes after the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that men who identify as ultra-Orthodox could no longer be excused from military duty, breaking a deal that had existed since Israel’s founding in 1948.
The move comes amid heightened tensions in the region after the IDF carried out air strikes on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, a day after a drone launched by the group hit Tel Aviv.
Conscripting ultra-Orthodox men is a contentious issue in Israel and the Haredi leadership fiercely resists any effort to draft young men, with some rabbis even urging anyone who receives call-up orders to burn them.
A large number of ultra-Orthodox Jews feel that military service is incompatible with their way of life. These Jews typically attend yeshivas or religious schools.
However, with Israeli troops still fighting in Gaza more than nine months after the Hamas terror attack on October 7, there has been growing pressure from the army and secular Israelis to spread the burden of military service.
By law, Israeli residents must enlist in the military at the age of eighteen and serve for at least 24 months. Since October 7, around 300,000 of these individuals have been called up for reserve service.
The government has said it will have to extend military service for conscripts and reservists to meet the country’s security needs.
The IDF said anyone ignoring multiple draft orders could be prevented from leaving the country or even face jail.
It follows a Houthi drone attack on a Tel Aviv apartment block on Friday that left a 50-year-old man dead and eight other people injured.
Speaking on Saturday evening after the attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would defend itself ‘by all means’.
Israel responded by launching a series of airstrikes in Yemen—the first time it has struck the country directly—which Houthi-linked news outlets said killed six people and injured more than 80.
Israeli forces said they intercepted a ballistic missile fired yesterday in retaliation.
While all Israelis should help to defend their nation, dealing with ultra-Orthodox Jews can be challenging. They have so far done everything to resist, so it’s about time they put in some graft like the rest of their country.
Ben Gurion came up with an exemption plan that was somewhat of a Faustian bargain.
Although the nation was established on secular principles, it retained the traditional cultural practice of Judaism. allowing the Orthodox, who at the time suited the majority, to pray and preserve their religion while everyone else fought to defend and establish the nation.
They essentially outsourced religion to the orthodox custodians.
The number of orthodox people has increased throughout time, and they have all had a large number of children. As a result, they are now a greater burden on the welfare state and have significantly increased political power.
They are no longer a small minority in their demographic, and it now seems that the rest of Israel is no longer prepared to subsidise their way of life. This has been brewing for a long time, and there are many roles that they could perform that would not contradict their way of life.
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