Israel’s highest court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, potentially fracturing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile coalition as the war against Hamas moves forward.
The Israeli supreme court ruling overturns a decades-long military exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews that became a point of tension as their population rose to about 13 percent of Israel’s total. Demographers project the ultra-Orthodox population could increase to nearly half of Israel’s eligible draft pool in the coming decades.
“In the middle of a difficult war, the burden of inequality is felt more acutely than ever—and it requires advancing a sustainable solution to this issue,” the judges said. The ruling also prohibits government subsidies for religious schools whose students no longer have a legal draft exemption.
Most of Israel’s minority populations are required to participate in the draft — but the Heredim, an ultra-orthodox sect, have historically been exempt on the basis of preserving Jewish tradition. The exemption for the Heredim has existed since Israel’s founding in 1948.
Two ultra-Orthodox political parties are a key part of Netanyahu’s coalition, and the military draft exemption is a main priority for them. A sizable portion of Haredi men do not work, instead studying Jewish texts.
It remains unclear if Netanyahu’s government will oversee a significant increase in Haredi military draftees. His party, the Likud, questioned the timing of the ruling, and said the military draft issue will be resolved by a bill in the Knesset that may not be completed by the end of this summer’s legislative session.
The Israeli Defense Forces currently face a manpower shortage that increased tensions surrounding the draft exemption. For the war against Hamas, Israel called up roughly 287,000 draftees, the largest mobilization in the Jewish state’s history. Less than one percent, roughly 1,000 soldiers, are Haredi men.
“The Torah is not an excuse for evasion, and the Gemara is not an excuse for refusal. From today, those who do not enlist will not receive a single penny from the state. There will be no more allowances for the non-mobilizing soldiers, because there is no more exemption,” said Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, reflecting the political divide on the draft exemption.
The high court ruling comes soon after Netanyahu dissolved Israel’s war cabinet following the departures of two rivals, including Benny Gantz, a moderate who resigned over Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing war against Hamas.