Israel Court: ‘Ultra-Orthodox Must Serve In Army’ (Worthy News Focus)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – In a historic move, Israel’s High Court of Justice has decided that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army, prompting government anger but praise from the opposition.

The unanimous ruling stated there was no legal basis to continue the decades-long exemption from military service to, for instance, ultra-Orthodox “yeshiva students” who are focused on strict Jewish learning.

The court said Israel’s government should “act to enforce the Law for Military Service on yeshiva students,” compelling state agencies to take active steps to draft such men into Israel Defense Forces (IDF) service.

It also stressed the state should stop providing financial aid to yeshiva students who study instead of fulfilling military service as the law providing that arrangement has lapsed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition allies fiercely condemned the ruling, while others called for drafting the yeshiva students and the rest of the roughly 67,000 military-age Haredi males.

The Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, follow a branch of Judaism characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and Jewish law.

FIGHTING IN GAZA

The Torah is Israel’s “secret weapon against all enemies,” and “no power in the world” can stop the Jewish people from studying it, said Aryeh Deri, chairman of Shas, a strict religious political party.

He linked the contributions of those studying Talmud full-time to those fighting in Gaza and the north.

“The Jewish people survived persecutions, pogroms, and wars only thanks to maintaining their uniqueness, the Torah, and the commandments. This is our secret weapon against all enemies, as promised by the Creator of the universe,” he said.

Deri also described yeshiva students as “the ones who preserve our special power and generate miracles in the [military] campaign.”

Yet when a Haredi representative made similar arguments in court, saying haredim “would rather die than be drafted,” justices seemed disturbed.

“Justices were emotionally disturbed by the idea that during an ongoing war which has taken the lives of around 1,500 Israelis, Haredim still feel that asking them to do the same service is oppression,” noted Jerusalem Post journalist Yonah Jeremy Bob.

ORTHODOX WARNINGS

However, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers have warned that the forcible enlistment of yeshiva students could endanger their support for Netanyahu, who is dependent on their support to maintain his thin majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

To avoid a government collapse, a bill is being debated in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that would lower the current age of exemption for yeshiva students from 26 to 21, Worthy News learned.

Yet, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government should begin an immediate mass mobilization of yeshiva students.

He said the High Court of Justice, “including the most conservative judges,” made clear that there “is no more exemption for the ultra-Orthodox.”

Lapid argued that “The Torah,” comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, “is not an excuse for evasion, and the Talmud,” the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, “is not an excuse for refusal” to serve in the military.

“Draft exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are illegal. The defense minister must uphold the law and issue conscription orders to tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox youth who have so far evaded military service,” he added.

Yet, with protests and debates ongoing, more social and political unrest was expected in the heart of the Jewish nation.

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