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In an anonymous ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that the IDF can draft ultra-Orthodox men to serve in the armed forces. The ruling will allow Israel to continue its war against Hamas, but there are dangerous ripples that could emerge from the decision.
“The historic ruling effectively puts an end to a decades-old system that granted ultra-Orthodox men broad exemptions from military service while maintaining mandatory enlistment for the country’s secular Jewish majority,” reports Tia Goldenberg at the Associated Press. “The arrangement, deemed discriminatory by critics, has created a deep chasm in Israel’s Jewish majority over who should shoulder the burden of protecting the country.”
For years, ultra-Orthodox men were exempt from the compulsory military service that Israel demanded from the rest of its men and women. Tuesday’s ruling was the culmination of a process that began seven years ago.
“The court struck down a law that codified exemptions in 2017, but repeated court extensions and government delaying tactics over a replacement dragged out a resolution for years,” Goldenberg reports. “The court ruled that in the absence of a law, Israel’s compulsory military service applies to the ultra-Orthodox like any other citizen.
