IZRL - Israel Court Ruling Ends Protections For Religious Jews From Joining IDF | Benzinga
The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that ultra-orthodox men of service age must now be drafted to join the army, in what constitutes a strong political blow to Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition.
Israel's nine-month-long war against Hamas and Hezbollah is shaking the country's institutions in unprecedented ways.
Now, a ruling by the country's highest court risks defying one of Israel's most debated realities, by which Jewish religious students are exempted from the otherwise mandatory military service, which drafts most male and female citizens at age 18 and has become a rite of passage in Israeli society.
The Israeli Supreme Court Decision: On Tuesday, the court ruled unanimously that Orthodox youth, also called Yeshiva students, must be included in drafts in an equal manner to other members of society, as there are no longer any legal resources in place to justify their exemption, the Times of Israel reported.
About 63,000 men of draft age are part of the Haredim, an ultra-Orthodox group within Israeli society that constitutes about 13% of the country's population.
The Haredim are characterized by their strict adhesion to traditional Jewish rites and ways of life. The study of religious texts is a central part of their daily lives, ...