No more liberation

Israel’s military is now also recruiting the ultra-Orthodox

Their protests were to no avail: the exemption from compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews has expired.(Bild: APA/AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI)

Israel's military plans to send out call-up orders to around 1000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 26 from next Sunday. A decades-long exemption has expired.

The government did not manage to pass a law in time to cement the exemptions for the strictly religious. The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that ultra-Orthodox men must be conscripted for military service.

This year, 3000 strict believers are to be recruited
The army is planning to conscript 3,000 orthodox men in three stages this year. In view of the months-long war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the army is urgently warning of a drastic shortage of combat-ready soldiers.

In addition, many Israelis feel it is unfair that ultra-Orthodox Jews were not previously required to serve in the armed forces and were exempt from dangerous combat missions. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their pious lifestyle, partly because women and men serve together. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox recently demonstrated on the streets against the obligation to serve in the military.