Israel's Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox, Jews must be conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the country's Supreme Court ruled unanimously and in a historic decision on Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported.
The court found that the exemptions for Haredim constituted “an invalid selective enforcement that represents a serious violation of the rule of law and the principle that all individuals are equal under the law,” the Associated Press reported. report.
The army could reportedly enlist 3,000 more men this year as the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip continues.
The legal settlement ends years of judicial postponement and delay by the government since 2017, when a court invalidated a decades-old law that provided exemptions for Haredi Jews, the media noted.
The exemption has long angered secular Jews who feel they bear a disproportionate share of the burden of defending Israel, according to the media. Government lawyers tried unsuccessfully to convince the court that the decision would “divide Israeli society,” the outlet reported. (Related: Fact check: Video shows Orthodox Jews leaving Israel to avoid conscription)
The High Court ruled that ultra-Orthodox men should be conscripted, invalidating a law that would have solidified the long-term policy.
“This is the ultimate divisive issue for the Israeli right.” Owen Alterman “And this war is driving that wedge deeper and deeper into the ground.” pic.twitter.com/oDOe9oBU1E
— i24NEWS English Edition (@i24NEWS_EN) June 25, 2024
The new ruling threatens to undermine the unity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, which includes politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties, the Associated Press said, which could lead to them quitting the coalition and forcing elections.
“The real solution to the conscription issue is not the Supreme Court's ruling,” Netanyahu's Likud party was reported as saying in a statement about the ruling.
Yitzhak Goldnopf, a prominent Haredi leader, chairman of the United Judaism party and Israel's Minister of Construction and Housing, called the ruling on X “deeply unfortunate and disappointing” in Hebrew.
We will always be accountable for that. God loves us. We have a heart that loves God. We love you.
— Matthew Cole (@DOVRUTGoldknopf) June 25, 2024
Goldnopf said at an event in June marking the 100th anniversary of the predominantly Haredi city of Bnei Brak that the IDF does not want or need Haredi militias. according to The Times of Israel. He reportedly claimed that the IDF had rejected 3,300 of the 4,000 Haredim who applied to join the military starting in 2024.
Eichler, a Haredi member of the Israeli Knesset, warned of the potential risks of “religious war in the streets and division among Jews,” Haaretz reported. report.
Meanwhile, centrist politician and opposition leader Yair Lapid supported the verdict, The Times of Israel reported. Separate reportSpeaking at the Herzliya Annual Conference at Reichman University in Tel Aviv, Lapid reportedly denounced the exemptions as “illegal,” declaring that “the era of illegal trafficking is over,” adding that some in Israeli society can no longer cry “we don't enlist, we die,” while others cry “we enlist, we die,” the media reported.
“The Torah is no excuse for running away, and the Talmud is no excuse for rejecting it,” he was quoted as saying in part.
Failure to comply with the ruling would amount to “a betrayal of the IDF soldiers and reservists,” he said. Added.
There are currently 1.29 million Haredim in Israel, making up 12.9% of Israel's population, a 509% increase from about 212,000 in 1979. according to i24 News.
