Israel’s parliament voted Tuesday to revive a bill that would allow ultra-Orthodox men to be recruited into the military, a divisive issue that has become especially contentious since the war in Gaza began last October.
The vote, which passed 63-57, was a procedural step intended to keep the hot-button issue in the hands of lawmakers rather than judges, who have repeatedly determined that the exemption, which dates back to Israel’s founding, does not should be maintained.
Many secular Israelis have long lamented exemptions for the most religious members of society. The issue has taken on new importance since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 sparked a war that has prompted repeated call-ups of reserve soldiers.
The bill, which revives a proposal introduced in 2022, would limit the exemption for ultra-Orthodox youth enrolled in religious studies, set recruitment quotas for them and provide alternative service options, among other changes. Some critics maintain, however, that the proposal would not significantly increase military service among the ultra-Orthodox, known in Hebrew as haredim.
The bill was introduced in May by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent effort to dissuade Israel’s Supreme Court from taking the lead on the matter. The judges are currently considering whether the government should immediately begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox texts, following the expiration of a law last year that was temporarily extended and has expired again.
Tuesday’s vote was widely seen as intended to send a signal to the court that the Knesset was addressing the issue. The court ordered the government to address the issue long ago, but years of legislative efforts have failed to produce significant changes.
Some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party said they would support reviving the bill to speed up the legislative process, but vowed to demand changes before it moved forward.
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has pushed for immediate recruitment of the country’s ultra-Orthodox, arguing that the government’s inability to pass new legislation is no excuse for not beginning to recruit Haredim after the expiration of the law. previous exemption law.
The dispute has its roots in decisions made in the years surrounding Israel’s founding, when the country’s secular leadership promised autonomy and privileges to the ultra-Orthodox minority in exchange for their support in creating a largely secular state. In addition to being exempt from conscription, haredim are allowed to run their own education system.
When the number of haredim was relatively small, their privileges mattered less to the Israeli mainstream. But they are Israel’s fastest growing population, numbering more than one million, or about 13 percent of the population, compared to 40,000, or 5 percent, in 1948. They are expected to make up about 16 percent of the nation by 2030.
If the Supreme Court can be persuaded that Netanyahu’s government is making a serious effort to address the issue, the justices can give the Knesset time to pass a law. Otherwise, the court could decide to order immediate action, and that could provoke a crisis for Netanyahu, whose coalition depends on the support of the ultra-Orthodox.