Israel’s supreme court ruled on Tuesday that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students to the conscript military, a decree likely to send shock waves through prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
Mr Netanyahu’s coalition relies for its survival on two ultra-Orthodox parties that regard long-standing conscription exemptions as key to keeping their constituents in religious seminaries and away from a melting-pot military that might test their conservative customs.
The ultra-Orthodox conscription waiver has become especially charged as Israel's armed forces, made up mostly of teenaged conscripts and older civilians mobilised for reserve duty, are overstretched by a multi-front war, in Gaza and Lebanon.
“At the height of a difficult war, the burden of inequality is more than ever acute,” the court's unanimous ruling said.
Israel-Hizbullah close to ceasefire deal, says Israel’s envoy to Washington
One of the casualties of 12 months of war in the Middle East was the rule of international law
Israel orders any remaining residents of Gaza’s Beit Hanoun to leave
Gaza: Israel detains 240 Palestinians including medics after hospital raid
Most Israelis are bound by law to serve in the military, whereas ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students have been largely exempt for decades. – Reuters
[ Israeli airstrikes kill at least 24 in Gaza City, say Gaza officialsOpens in new window ]
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024