Israel conscripts 54,000 ultra-Orthodox into the army, and the coalition government may split

The Israeli military announced on the 6th that it will begin to issue conscription notices to 54,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who were exempted from military service in the past, a move that could lead to the split of the coalition government.

According to AFP, the military said in a statement: “The military will begin to issue conscription notices to Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who are no longer Yeshiva students due to the expiration of previous legal arrangements this week to complete their enlistment procedures.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jews are also known as “Haredim”. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, conscription is a highly controversial issue.

Netanyahu’s coalition government was established in December 2022. The core is a coalition composed of Netanyahu’s right-wing “Unity Party” (Likud), several far-right parties, and ultra-Orthodox parties.

Under the rules of Israel’s founding in 1948, ultra-Orthodox people are exempt from military service as long as they devote themselves to religious studies.

Ultra-Orthodox parties have repeatedly asked Netanyahu to preserve the long-standing exemption for his constituents, a right that is increasingly unpopular with other groups in Israeli society after 21 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The special status of the Haredi people has also been challenged by Israel’s Supreme Court since the early 2000s, and successive governments have had to enact temporary emergency bills to appease the ultra-Orthodox in the coalition government.

Since June 2024, the judiciary has been pressuring the government to begin conscripting Haredi men into the army after the latest law guaranteeing their immunity expires.

Last month, ultra-Orthodox parties almost voted against the issue in a confidence vote, but finally reached a last-minute agreement to extend the exemption.

The military statement said: “The conscription orders will be issued in batches in July, and a total of 54,000 orders will be issued in the end.”

The statement also said: “The military will continue to work to relax the conditions for ultra-Orthodox enlistment, while striving to provide the best conditions that respect their unique lifestyle as much as possible.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jews account for about 14% of Israel’s Jewish population, about 1.3 million people, and currently about 66,000 men of military age are exempt from military service.

In addition, the Israeli military launched air strikes on more than 100 targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours, killing at least 38 people. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the humanitarian crisis is urgent.

Madbouly attended the BRICS summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the 6th. He said at the opening ceremony that this summit is at a critical moment facing the world, including tense geopolitical situations, unprecedented economic setbacks, trade protectionism implemented by powerful countries, accumulated debts of developing countries, and climate change.

Madbouly stressed that the most pressing crisis is the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Saqer Abu Al-Kheir, a survivor who lost his loved ones, knelt on the ground and told the media in pain: “My brother, his wife, his four children, and my cousin’s two children, a total of eight people died.”