Israel ruling on army service for religious citizens sparks anger
JERUSALEM: An Israeli Supreme Court decision that could force ultra-Orthodox citizens to serve in the army like their secular counterparts sparked anger from religious leaders Wednesday and reignited a sensitive political debate.
Tuesday’s decision strikes down a law exempting ultra-Orthodox men engaged in religious study from military service, saying it undermines equality.
The decision raises the possibility that they could be forced into service, a highly contentious proposition with political implications.
The court however suspended its decision for one year to allow for preparations for the new arrangement — which also provides the government with the opportunity to pass a new law.
Ultra-Orthodox political parties and their allies in government are likely to draft new legislation that could seek to override the court ruling and keep the exemption in place.
The ultra-Orthodox parties form a key part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and have often acted as kingmakers in Israeli politics.
Around 10 percent of Israel’s 8 million people are considered ultra-Orthodox.
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, whose ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism alliance is part of Netanyahu’s coalition, accused the court of seeking to topple the coalition.
He called the ruling “one of the worst, most wretched judicial decrees that will enter the long history of persecutions of the Jewish people,” ultra-Orthodox newspaper Hamodia reported.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said “the Supreme Court is totally cut off from our ( Jewish) heritage and tradition.”
The issue is part of a decadesold debate over whether young ultra-Orthodox men studying at seminaries should perform mandatory military service like the rest of Israel’s Jewish population.
After reaching age 18, men must serve two years and eight months, while women must serve for two years. In 2015, lawmakers passed legislation extending their exemption from duty, reversing a law passed the previous year that would have seen it expire.
Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion initially granted the exemption in the early years of the state founded in 1948, which at the time involved only 400 students.