‘We will not enlist:’ Ultra-Orthodox in Israel vow to defy orders to serve in the military

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. The Supreme Court ruling on June 25 said the Israeli government must enlist draft-age ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, reversing a de facto exemption in place since the country’s founding 76 years ago. ‘God is going to help them’ But Haredi journalist Yanki Farber told CNN in a telephone interview ahead of the protest that although the protesters in Mea Shearim would be among the most “extreme” of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox communities, the Supreme Court’s decision — requiring the Israel Defense Forces to recruit all Israeli men equally — had left the wider community reeling. “You start opening your head to other opinions… and nobody’s going to listen to the rabbis anymore.” Netanyahu’s Likud party said in response to the Supreme Court ruling that it hoped to pass a “historic conscription law” which would “significantly increase the recruitment rates” of ultra-Orthodox men but also “recognize the importance of Torah study” — raising the possibility of the exemption continuing for a smaller number of yeshiva students. But a source in the political opposition told CNN they did not believe any bill on the matter that could secure the necessary majority support in the Knesset would be acceptable to Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, for whom this was the “number one issue.” “In terms of legislative process stuck,” the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive political matters candidly, said.