Israel's ultra-Orthodox must serve in military, Supreme Court rules in blow to Netanyahu
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be drafted into the military, a new blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that could lead to the collapse of his increasingly fragile governing coalition.
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must be drafted into the military, a new blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that could lead to the collapse of his increasingly fragile governing coalition.
At the height of an "intense conflict, the burden of inequality in service is particularly acute,” the court said in a unanimous ruling that sent shock waves through the country in the midst of its monthslong offensive in the Gaza Strip following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks.
Most Israelis are by law expected to serve in the military. But for decades, exemptions have existed for the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 13% of Israeli society, to allow them to study full-time in religious seminaries.
The Supreme Court said there was no legal framework that supported a differentiation between yeshiva students and other Israelis eligible for military service. "Consequently, the state lacks the authority to broadly exempt yeshiva students from conscription," it said.
Netanyahu's coalition partly relies on two ultra-Orthodox parties that have called for those exemptions to remain in place and signaled that they could quit the government if they do not.
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