Israeli Defense Minister Approves Plan to Draft Ultra-Orthodox Jews into Military
JERUSALEM, July 9 (Reuters) – It seems that this decision is going to escalate the conflict within the right-wing comprising of the coalition partners of PM Benjamin Netanyahu; Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant went ahead and approved a plan to draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish males into the military. This decision was made despite the continued collaboration with two ultra-Orthodox parties, which base their political existence on the need to maintain exemptions to fulfill the party voters’ roles, serving in religious yeshiva schools, avoiding the military setting, which is seen as a threatening factor in disrupting the ultra-Orthodox community’s culture.
Opposition and Political Strain
Most ultra-orthodox politicians equally detest the draft, especially at this time when Israel’s military is increasing its forces given the nine-month conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Defence Ministry said that Gallant’s decision arose after consultations with key personnel and supported their recommendations concerning an initial mobilization of ultra-Orthodox men within a month.
Initial Screening Process
This was to clear any misunderstanding, with the Defence Ministry stating that the first action entails examination and selection to recruit personnel. Usually, Israelis get their first draft summons when they are 16 and a half years old and join the military at 18. Every Israelite has to serve for 24-32 months within the military forces as per the law. Although Israel’s 21 percent Arab population is spared chiefly from service, while some do enlist voluntarily, ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attending a seminary are mostly exempted from service.
Supreme Court Ruling and Public Reaction
There are many places to look for evidence to support this hypothesis. Last month, the Israeli Supreme Court gave a judgment that the state has to start conscripting young ultra-orthodox Jewish men attending seminary to the army. The exemptions have been around for a long time and have led to protests by Israelis who do not believe the danger is shared evenly as in wars in Gaza. On the other hand, ultra-Orthodox groups have fewer occasions to protest against their drafting; some of them block roads, chalking up the phrase ‘death rather than conscription. ’
This qualification of the draft plan by Gallant is a new approach in the Israeli military policy agenda, and this is a testimony to the fact that the government of the country has not given up on wrestling with the conflict between religious laws and the right of self-defense. While the first meetings will take place in this regard, political changes can again occur due to the YES votes to the draft and the opponents. The following months will outline the outcomes of this decision on mobilizing the Israeli military and politics, primarily within Netanyahu’s coalition.
This development analyses the relations between religion, military service, and political affiliation in the context of the Israeli state and raises the prospect of future tensions and policy changes.
