The Polarizing Debate on Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Enlistment in Israel’s Occupation Army

Watan-The legal advisor to the Israeli government informed the Supreme Court of the occupation that as of April 1, 2024, there would be no legal basis for avoiding the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the occupation army.

This comes as the instructions to avoid the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews expire on March 31, 2024.

According to Hebrew media, this issue is highly sensitive and unprecedentedly complex, especially amid the war and during the term of the emergency government.

Military Plans Provoking Anger

In turn, the Times of Israel newspaper stated that the army’s plan to extend the service duration of conscripts and reservists has sparked fierce reactions among legislators from various political spectrums, with many renewing calls to end military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews to compensate for the labor force shortage.

The proposed changes within the plan, revealed by the Israeli newspaper, include extending the mandatory military service for males and females in combat and other special roles to three years.

Since 2015, men have served for two years and eight months, while women currently serve for two years.

Israeli legislators have argued that the increasing burden on military service should fall on the ultra-Orthodox community rather than adding it to those already serving.

Plans to Raise Retirement Age

The occupation army plans to raise the retirement age from reserve service to 45 for regular soldiers, 50 for officers, and 52 for those serving in special roles. The amount of time reservists are required to serve annually will also increase under the plans.

Since the “Operation Eastern Storm” last October, the Israeli occupation army has summoned a total of 287,000 reserve soldiers, marking the largest call-up of reservists. Many have already been discharged from service.

However, there are widespread expectations that some will be recalled with the continuation of fighting in Gaza and the looming war on the northern borders.

Recently, urgent appeals were made within the ultra-Orthodox religious circles, urging ultra-Orthodox settlers to immediately join the army like other reservists, even without waiting for a law to be passed on the matter.

In the ultra-Orthodox settler circles, it has been suggested that “the army now urgently needs large numbers of soldiers in the war Israel is fighting, and the ultra-Orthodox should join the military service immediately, while the law regarding their conscription can wait.”

There has been a crisis in the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the occupation army amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as leaders of religious Jews have reiterated their opposition to conscription into the occupation army, affirming that their role lies in “studying the Torah.”

The issue of ultra-Orthodox participation in the “army” is one of the most sensitive and tense topics in “Israel,” as secularists oppose the exemption of religious Jews from military service and their acquisition of more privileges than others.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have long enjoyed exemptions from military service, viewing integration into the secular world as a threat to their religious identity and the continuity of their community.