Supreme Court:

Ultra-Orthodox must do military service in Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jews(Bild: roman - stock.adobe.com)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must also do military service in the Israeli army. This was the unanimous decision of Israel's highest court on Tuesday. The ruling is seen as a setback for the right-wing religious government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The new ruling affects 63,000 men. The nine judges in Jerusalem approved two petitions calling for the immediate conscription of ultra-Orthodox men. "At the height of a harsh war, the burden of an unequal distribution of the burden is greater than ever, and requires a solution," it said in the ruling. There is no legal basis for exempting the ultra-Orthodox from compulsory military service.

Ultra-Orthodox men(Bild: roman - stock.adobe.com)

Israeli army(Bild: AFP)

Decades of exemptions
For decades, there were exemptions from compulsory military service for this group. Three months ago, however, they expired and Netanyahu's government failed to pass a corresponding law. Some strictly religious people refuse to conscript young men from their community.

Following the end of the exemptions, Israel's highest court ordered the removal of state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men of conscription age studying at religious schools. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara already ruled at the end of March that the military was obliged to call up this group as well. There were protests against this a few months ago (see video above).

Military service for women too
The army had recently warned of a shortage of armed forces for the war in the Gaza Strip. In principle, men in Israel have to do three years of military service and women two years. Some ultra-Orthodox men serve voluntarily, while strictly religious women are also only recruited on a voluntary basis. The ruling coalition had already collapsed in 2018 over a dispute about a corresponding law.