The Prosecutor General also announced that studies in yeshivas – schools where Talmudic studies are conducted – will no longer be the basis for receiving a monthly state stipend by people exempt from military service.
Israel. The decision to conscript into the army. A source of political disputes
The issue of conscripting haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) into the army persisted despite the war Israel z Hamas a source of serious political disputes. The ruling coalition, the most right-wing in the history of the Jewish state, announced in the agreement published at the end of last year that ultra-Orthodox Jews would be exempt from compulsory military service in Israel. Netanyahu's government he also planned to award more generous scholarships for men from Orthodox communities who devote themselves to religious studies and do not work.
The Prime Minister sought to postpone the introduction of compulsory conscription for Haredim for 30 days, because the votes of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, which constitutes approximately 10 percent. the country's population, there are extremely important to his government.
As reported by the “Jerusalem Post” daily, the issue of Haredi military service is an issue “an endless legal and political drama”and the prosecutor general's decision may destabilize the ruling coalition, as it includes two ultra-Orthodox parties – United Torah Judaism and Shas – which may not accept such a change.
“Radical” change in Israel. It's about the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews
The Times of Israel assessed that the prosecutor general's decision means a “radical and dramatic” change in the legal situation in the country. The NGO Movement for Quality Government announced that it welcomes this change and that “the period in which there were citizens in the state of Israel who had only rights and no obligations has ended.”
A poll conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) in December showed that 70 percent ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel despite the war still opposed to military conscription. 62 percent believes that the Gaza Strip should be under the full control of the Israeli authorities.
Ultra-Orthodox parties consider conscription of religious Jews a taboo, fearing that they will be too exposed to secularization during military service. The prosecutor's decision is a big change in Israel. Since 1948, ultra-Orthodox Jews were exempt from joining the army. In 2014, the Knesset voted to enlist this group in the army, which was met with mass protests. The law was reformed in 2017, with the aim of including a provision to reduce the participation of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the service, but the Supreme Court canceled the reform.
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