Netanyahu’s Likud party said the Supreme Court’s ruling was ‚perplexing‘, given ongoing efforts in parliament to agree on a new conscription law that would address the problem
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the state must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students into the military, a decree which creates new political strains for embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s Likud party said the Supreme Court’s ruling was „perplexing“, given ongoing efforts in parliament to agree on a new conscription law that would address the problem.
Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The prime minister’s coalition government relies on two ultra-Orthodox parties that regard conscription exemptions as key to keeping their constituents in religious seminaries and out of a melting-pot army that might test their customs.
Leaders of those parties said they were disappointed with the ruling but issued no immediate threat to the government.
However, the prospect of the military, backed by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, starting to draft seminary students could widen cracks in Netanyahu’s increasingly brittle coalition.
The ultra-Orthodox conscription waiver has become increasingly charged in Israel as its armed forces are overstretched by a multi-front war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
„At the height of a difficult war, the burden of inequality is more than ever acute“, the court’s unanimous ruling said.
