Israeli women mobilize against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
6 hours, 57 minutes ago

Israeli women mobilize against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions

Raw Story  

Exhausted by more than 14 months of war, the wives and mothers of Israeli soldiers are uniting in protest against exemptions from conscription for ultra-Orthodox men. Ultra-Orthodox residents passed by, some running, as protesters holding Israeli flags and banners shouted through megaphones demanding "conscription for all". The military has asked for extra manpower in light of the war in Gaza and connected conflicts, while the Supreme Court ruled in June that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into military service. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government includes members of two ultra-Orthodox parties, and he has feared that ending the exemption could break up his coalition. Michal Vilian, a 60-year-old resident of Givat Shmuel, has been participating in weekly demonstrations organized since last month by "Partners for Bearing the Burden", a religious women's collective.

Military Religious Military Service Jewish Gaza Israeli Forum Zionist Conscription Haredim  conscription  war  women  israeli  mobilize  military  reservists  ultraorthodox  jewish  majority  exemptions  population  religious

History of this topic

Israel issues more than 1,000 arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox draft avoiders
1 month ago

Israel issues more than 1,000 arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox draft avoiders

CNN  

Israel’s military has issued 1,126 arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox conscripts who have not responded to drafting orders, in a move likely to fuel discontent over a controversial decision to remove their decades-long exemption from service. Israel has turned to enlisting ultra-Orthodox Jews of draft age after more than a year of war in Gaza and a ground operation in Lebanon …

Israel’s military will begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday. It could rattle the government
5 months, 1 week ago

Israel’s military will begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday. It could rattle the government

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Tuesday said it would begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday — a step that could destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The army did not say when it expects ultra-Orthodox men to begin serving or how many it expects to enlist. Ultra-Orthodox leaders say religious study is equally important for …

‘We will not enlist:’ Ultra-Orthodox in Israel vow to defy orders to serve in the military
5 months, 3 weeks ago

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

CNN  

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 …

Ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway to protest Israel’s new mandatory military service ruling
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway to protest Israel’s new mandatory military service ruling

LA Times  

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours on Thursday to protest a recent Supreme Court decision ordering young religious men to enlist for military service. “All the Orthodox public prefers to go to prison and not to the army.” The ultra-Orthodox see their full-time religious study as their part in protecting the …

Israeli Court Orders Army To Draft Ultra-Orthodox Men, Rattling Netanyahu's Government
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israeli Court Orders Army To Draft Ultra-Orthodox Men, Rattling Netanyahu's Government

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza. The historic ruling effectively puts an end to a decades-old system that granted …

Israeli Supreme Court says ultra-Orthodox must serve in military
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israeli Supreme Court says ultra-Orthodox must serve in military

The Hindu  

Israel’s Supreme Court on June 25 ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service, a decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza. The court ruled that in the absence of a law that distinguishes between Jewish seminary students and other …

Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza. The historic ruling effectively puts an end to a decades-old system that granted ultra-Orthodox men broad …

Israeli Supreme Court rules that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israeli Supreme Court rules that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men

New Indian Express  

JERUSALEM: Israel's top court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to military service, a decision that could upend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition. The High Court of Justice's decision on the politically volatile issue came amid growing calls that ultra-Orthodox men, who have historically been granted sweeping exemptions from mandatory service, join the ranks …

Israel’s top court rules ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into military, in blow to Netanyahu
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israel’s top court rules ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into military, in blow to Netanyahu

CNN  

Jerusalem CNN — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, delivering a blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has the potential to unravel his ruling coalition. “It was determined that by doing so, the government seriously harmed the rule of law and the principle according to which all individuals are equal …

Israel’s Supreme Court orders conscription for ultra-Orthodox men
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israel’s Supreme Court orders conscription for ultra-Orthodox men

Al Jazeera  

The ruling risks the further destabilisation of Israel’s government, with key religiously conservative parties opposed. Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service. The court said that in the absence of a law that distinguishes between Jewish seminary students and other draftees, Israel’s compulsory military service system applies to ultra-Orthodox men …

Israel may soon draft ultra-Orthodox Jews. What does it mean for the war and Netanyahu?
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israel may soon draft ultra-Orthodox Jews. What does it mean for the war and Netanyahu?

CNN  

CNN — The Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday ordering the government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military. “The Jewish people survived persecutions, pogroms and wars only thanks to the preservation of their uniqueness – the Torah and the mitzvot,” the head of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party said on Tuesday, referring to the 613 commandments that rule …

Israel’s high court orders army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israel’s high court orders army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government

LA Times  

Israeli police officers remove an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man from the street during a protest against army recruitment in Jerusalem on June 2. Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to …

Israeli Supreme Court rules that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Israeli Supreme Court rules that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men

NPR  

Israeli Supreme Court rules that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men toggle caption Leo Correa/AP In a landmark ruling that threatens to unravel Israel's government, the country's Supreme Court has ordered the military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men, who've long been exempt from service. Before Tuesday's ruling, the Israeli government had repeatedly extended the waiver, but it has been …

Israel’s Knesset advances contentious ultra-Orthodox conscription law
6 months, 1 week ago

Israel’s Knesset advances contentious ultra-Orthodox conscription law

Al Jazeera  

Far-right religious parties are backing the bill with a view to inserting changes and limiting conscription. The Israeli Knesset has voted to revive a bill that would end exemption on military conscription for some ultra-Orthodox religious students. The vote came one day after former general and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot resigned from the …

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block Jerusalem roads ahead of Israeli court decision on draft exemptions
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block Jerusalem roads ahead of Israeli court decision on draft exemptions

Associated Press  

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked roads in Jerusalem on Sunday as Israel’s Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case challenging a controversial system of exemptions from military service granted to the religious community. The court is looking at the legality of the exemptions, which have divided the country and threatened to collapse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. During …

Will ultra-Orthodox Jews have to enlist in the Israeli army?
8 months, 1 week ago

Will ultra-Orthodox Jews have to enlist in the Israeli army?

Al Jazeera  

Debate on whether the ultra-Orthodox should serve in the Israeli military could bring down Netanyahu’s government. As Israel’s war on Gaza continues amid ongoing hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon, there have been growing calls from the Israeli government and society to enlist ultra-Orthodox Jews, also known as Haredim, to serve in the military. They held signs reading “To jail and …

Could Israel’s SC ruling ending draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Israelis topple Netanyahu’s government?
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Could Israel’s SC ruling ending draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Israelis topple Netanyahu’s government?

The Hindu  

Israel's Supreme Court ruling curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men has rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition and raised questions about its viability as the country presses on with the war in Gaza. The religious exemption dates back to Israel’s founding, a compromise that the country's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, made with ultra-orthodox leaders to allow some 400 …

Israel’s high court says the government must stop funding seminaries. Could that topple Netanyahu?
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Israel’s high court says the government must stop funding seminaries. Could that topple Netanyahu?

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court ruling curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men has rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and raised questions about its viability as the country presses on with the war in Gaza. FILE - Israeli police officers scuffle with ultra-Orthodox Jewish men during a protest against a potential new draft law which could end their exemptions from …

Israeli court halts subsidies for ultra-Orthodox, deepening turmoil over mandatory military service
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Israeli court halts subsidies for ultra-Orthodox, deepening turmoil over mandatory military service

Associated Press  

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered an end to government subsidies for many ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the army — a blockbuster ruling that could have far-reaching consequences for the government and the tens of thousands of religious men who refuse to take part in mandatory military service. Israeli police officers scuffle with …

With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel fights a battle at home over drafting the ultra-Orthodox
8 months, 3 weeks ago

With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel fights a battle at home over drafting the ultra-Orthodox

Deccan Chronicle  

Jerusalem, Mar 26 As Israel battles a prolonged war in Gaza, broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a deep divide in the country and rattled the government coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fellow War Cabinet members staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription law. “Politically, this is one of the most concrete threats to …

With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel fights a battle at home over drafting the ultra-Orthodox
8 months, 3 weeks ago

With its soldiers mired in Gaza, Israel fights a battle at home over drafting the ultra-Orthodox

Associated Press  

JERUSALEM — As Israel battles a prolonged war in Gaza, broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a deep divide in the country and rattled the government coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fellow War Cabinet members staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription law. Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz — who with Netanyahu comprise the …

With war in Gaza, Israel faces new pressure to draft the ultra-Orthodox into service
8 months, 3 weeks ago

With war in Gaza, Israel faces new pressure to draft the ultra-Orthodox into service

NPR  

With war in Gaza, Israel faces new pressure to draft the ultra-Orthodox into service Enlarge this image toggle caption Tamir Kalifa for NPR Tamir Kalifa for NPR A core tension in Israeli society has grown more urgent since the Hamas attack on Israel last October: Whether to draft the ultra-Orthodox into military service. Enlarge this image toggle caption Tamir Kalifa …

Ultra-Orthodox men block Jerusalem traffic in protest against Israeli military draft
1 year, 3 months ago

Ultra-Orthodox men block Jerusalem traffic in protest against Israeli military draft

Associated Press  

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men on Wednesday blocked a major Jerusalem intersection, snarling traffic and crippling public transportation across the city, in a demonstration against an attempt to force a community member to comply with the country’s mandatory military draft. Military service is compulsory for Jewish males, but politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their communities to allow men …

Discover Related