This week, the Israeli government announced that, starting Sunday, it would begin recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men for the first time in the country’s 76-year history.
The statement came more than a month after Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the military must begin enlisting ultra-Orthodox men into the army, upending a long-standing political agreement that exempted them from mandatory military service.
The decision threatens to antagonize large segments of the community, who argue that serving in the military threatens their way of life.
Furthermore, the forced enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men could destabilize Israel’s far-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s coalition are opposed to this measure and their communities are protesting in the streets.
Any ultra-Orthodox party that leaves the coalition could trigger early elections at a time when Netanyahu’s popularity is at a low.
The army will on Sunday begin sending 3,000 recruitment orders to ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 26 ahead of enlistment in 2025, according to local media.
So who are Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews and why are they so opposed to conscription?
Who are the ultra-Orthodox in Israel?
The ultra-Orthodox Jews of Israel are commonly called Haredim (Haredi in the singular) in Hebrew. They are the most religious demographic in Israel and typically segment themselves out of general society to devote themselves to prayer and worship.
The movement dates back to 19th century Europe as a reaction to the modern world and the fear that it would divert them from their devotion to their religion.
Some analysts have described Haredim as generally being more devoted to their way of life than to Zionism, a political ideology that initially called for the establishment of an ethno-Jewish state in Palestine and now focuses on protecting Israel as a Jewish country.
Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, said the ultra-Orthodox have generally adopted a neutral – even tolerant – stance toward Palestinians.
“The sanctity of life was assumed to supersede the sanctity of the land for them,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s not about establishing yourself in territory. It’s more important [for them] may the Jews remain alive.”
Why don’t the ultra-Orthodox want to serve in the army?
Well, you run the risk of changing your way of life.
Even before the creation of the State of Israel, after the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in 1948 – an event known as Nakba – an exemption was agreed for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
A small number of students were not required to serve in the military if they dedicated their lives to studying Jewish holy books in religious schools, known as yeshivas, that depend on state funding.
Over time, ultra-Orthodox Israelis grew to become a significant part of the population due to their high birth rate. In 2023, the group consisted of 1.3 million people in Israel, or about 13% of the population.
Every year, around 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach draft age, but 90% of them do not enlist.
“Ultra-Orthodox communities tend to actively resist recruitment into the [military] for reasons of how they perceive their relationship with the State of Israel, … but it also goes back to the feeling that it’s not their conflict with the Palestinians,” said Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Relations. “This remains the case today.”
Do other Israelis want the ultra-Orthodox to serve in the army?
Yes, and they have been doing so for many years.
Secular Israelis have long believed that they shouldered the burden of protecting the country, serving in the occupied West Bank and participating in Israel’s many wars in Gaza.
For years, Israel has tried to rely less on conscripts, waging “smart” technological warfare that consisted of aerial bombardment and siege warfare. But since the Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and 250 taken prisoner, Israel has needed more reserves and manpower for its war in the Strip. Gaza.
The war in Gaza has been ongoing for more than nine months and has killed at least 38,848 Palestinians and uprooted almost the entire population. Around 600 Israeli soldiers were also killed in battle, and there is growing resentment that the ultra-Orthodox are not sending their young people to “defend Israel,” according to Eyal Lurie-Paredes, an expert on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East. Institute reflection group.
“It is important to state that the issue of calling the ultra-Orthodox has been one of the main issues of conflict in Israeli politics for decades,” he told Al Jazeera.
“One of the only questions that unites [the settler movement and Zionist secular opposition] is that the ultra-Orthodox should be called up.”
Could the enlistment of the ultra-Orthodox bring down the government?
It’s possible, but it’s not certain.
Netanyahu is in power thanks to a fragile coalition, which is supported by the far-right settler movement and the ultra-Orthodox. The far right and the ultra-Orthodox have instrumentalized each other to secure their own interests, Goldberg said.
He noted that the two largest settlements in the West Bank, all illegal under international law, are mostly occupied by ultra-Orthodox people, who moved for economic rather than ideological reasons, as housing is heavily subsidized.
But, he stressed, they still contribute to the expansion of settlements by living there.
Some ultra-Orthodox and far-right settlers may live together, but they differ on important issues.
The latter wants to continue the war in Gaza and consolidate the army’s occupation of the West Bank. Ultra-Orthodox leaders, however, are calling on Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and secure a captivity deal with Hamas, calculating that ending the war will reduce the need for more recruits.
“Settlers have an agenda driven by ideology… and want to actively pursue territorial expansion,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera, drawing a loose comparison with American evangelical Christians because of what he said was their shared tendency to use religion to promote a right. wing agenda as well as expansionist objectives.
“The ultra-Orthodox are nothing like American evangelicals. They just want to be alone and maintain their inner purity.”
Although the ultra-Orthodox and the far right have different interests, neither has an incentive to bring about the collapse of a coalition government that served their interests so well, Lovatt said.
He added that the secular Zionist parties harbor a lot of resentment towards the ultra-Orthodox, leaving the latter with no choice but to support the right-wing coalition.
“I think the ultra-Orthodox would not want – and have so far been reluctant – to overthrow this government because that would exile them into the political wilderness,” Lovatt said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
