Ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into military, rules Israel's Supreme Court

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into military services and there cannot be any exemption for them.

The issue is contentious in Israel as many ultra-Orthodox Jews are opposed to the country’s mandatory military service and the ultra-Orthodox parties part of the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are opposed to including them in the mandatory military service.

The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that no law in Israel allows for the exemption of ultra-Orthodox from being drafted into military and the Israeli government must stop instructing the military and the defence ministry to not draft them.

In the absence of a law that distinguishes between ultra-Orthodox Jews, called Haredi Jews in Israel, and other Israeli citizens, the country’s mandatory military service must apply to ultra-Orthodox Jews like it would apply to any other citizen, ruled the Supreme Court.

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There are around 67,000 Haredi Jewish men who are eligible to be drafted into military service. Under the current set-up, they are exempt from the draft, which has long been a subject of anger among other Israelis. Such an anger has increased since the outbreak of the war.

The judges during the hearing were emotionally disturbed at the idea that asking the Haredi Jews to serve mandatorily just like any other citizen at a time when so many of Israelis had died in the ongoing war was being dubbed as oppression of the community, according to The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The ultra-Orthodox parties have sought the passage of a law that calls for the blanket exemptions for Haredi Jews from mandatory military service.