The decades-old debate has become a particularly sensitive issue at a time when Israeli forces, made up mostly of young conscripts and civilians mobilized into reserve forces, have been waging a nearly six-month war in Gaza to try to eliminate Hamas.
In a letter to the Supreme Court published by Netanyahu's office, the prime minister said he had “made significant progress on the draft plan” but requested an extension of 30 days “in order to formulate agreements.”
He said that the war against Hamas militants has dominated the government's attention and is now at a decisive stage.
The court suspends government support for religious Jews of military age
• The Supreme Court has not yet responded to Netanyahu’s request, but it separately ruled to suspend government support for religious Jews of military age who study in religious institutes instead of performing military service, as of April 1.
• The two ultra-Orthodox parties in Netanyahu’s national-religious coalition, United Torah Judaism and Shas, denounced and pledged to fight for what they considered the “right” of their voters to remain in yeshivas, but they stopped short of threatening to withdraw from the government.
• Intensifying the pressure, Prosecutor Gali Bahrav Meara wrote in a memorandum to the court that she saw no legal basis to postpone the imposition of mandatory conscription for religious Jews any longer.
The crisis of religious Jewish recruitment.. What do we know about it?
– Religious Jews, the fastest growing religious minority in Israel, enjoy an exemption from compulsory conscription in order to direct members of the minority to religious institutes.
The Supreme Court abolished this exemption in 2018 to achieve the principle of equality.
Parliament failed to reach a new arrangement, and a government order postponing compulsory conscription for religious Jews expires on Sunday.
– Among those who favor reviewing the exemption are the Minister of Defense and other members of Netanyahu’s government concerned with the management of the war.
They expect the fighting to continue for months, which would exhaust manpower and fuel popular demands for summons on the basis of equality.
– The ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties in the ruling coalition, whose support the conservative Netanyahu has long sought, want to maintain the exemptions as a way to preserve the religious lifestyle of their voters.
Religious Jews constitute 13 percent of Israel's population of 10 million, and the percentage is expected to reach 19 percent by 2035 due to their high birth rates.
– Economists say the exemption unnecessarily keeps some in seminaries out of the workforce, increasing Social Security burdens on middle-class taxpayers.
Arabs, who make up 21 percent of Israel's population, are mostly exempt from military service, under which men and women are generally called up at age 18, with men serving three years and women two years.
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