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Thousands of ultra-Orthodox people doused the city of Jerusalem in the Black Sea on Thursday to protest plans to draft them into the army, singing, clapping and holding signs saying they would prefer to go to jail.
deep divisions in Israel The society has emerged as the most serious threat to the Prime Minister on the current draft of exemption given to the ultra-Orthodox. benjamin netanyahuGovernment of.
The embattled leader relies on ultra-Orthodox parties to keep his government running, but he tries to pass a law to permanently exempt the ultra-Orthodox Israel Military service could sink their government and lead to early elections.
Israel closed the major highway at the entrance to Jerusalem and deployed more than 2,000 officers as thousands of ultra-Orthodox, known as Haredim, gathered in the streets. A teenager has died after falling from an under-construction building during a largely peaceful protest, police said.
Protests largely affected the city, with roads closed and public transport halted.
Who are the Haredim?
Roughly 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox jews They constitute about 13% of Israel’s population and oppose conscription because they believe their most important duty is to study full-time in religious seminaries.
Conscription exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox date back to Israel’s founding in 1948, when a small number of talented scholars were exempted from the draft. But due to pressure from politically powerful religious parties, this number has increased in the last few decades. The court said the exemption in 2017 was illegal, but repeated extensions and the government’s delaying tactics have prevented replacement legislation from being passed.
Widespread exemption from mandatory military service has reopened a deep divide in the country and angered the general public during the war. GazaMore than 900 soldiers have been killed since the war began. Many reserve soldiers have served hundreds of days in multiple tours of duty, and the military has repeatedly warned that more troops are desperately needed to meet Israel’s defense needs.
staunch opposition to military service
Thousands of Haredim gathered at the entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday for a lively prayer rally as loud spiritual music played over speakers, although it was less than the hundreds of thousands predicted by Israeli media.
“This whole thing is a scheme to prevent us from maintaining our religion, we will not agree to send our boys there,” said Efraim Laff, 65, a full-time seminary student and father of eight in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak, who was struggling to travel to Jerusalem before several roads were closed. “We understand this very clearly, it’s not that they need us, the thing is that they want to destroy us religiously.”
The most serious challenge for Netanyahu’s government
The country’s two ultra-Orthodox parties were an essential part of Netanyahu’s fragile coalition before he left in the summer in anger over proposed legislation on the military draft. However, they still often vote with Netanyahu, allowing his government to survive.
Haredi leaders’ push to pass legislation codifying permanent draft exemptions could change that. The issue of Haredi nomination has forced several early elections in the past decade, said Lahav Harkov, a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, a think tank.
Elections are currently scheduled for next November, but it is likely that Netanyahu may be forced to call early elections in the next few months.
Current Recruitment Law
The reason for Thursday’s protest was Netanyahu’s decision to bring the conscription law up for discussion in a Knesset committee next week despite deep opposition to the bill, including in his own party. This is the first step before the bill is brought to the General Knesset for a vote.
Shuki Friedman, vice president of the Jewish People’s Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, and an expert on Haredi issues, reported that Haredi members of the Knesset have been unable to obtain their community’s demands: a permanent draft exemption or an increased budget for their community.
A series of Supreme Court cases have affected the budget that allows Haredi men to study full-time in exchange for a stipend from the state. So far parties have explored temporary funding as a stop-gap measure, but those stipends are increasingly under threat.
“It’s a protest against the government, because it could bring down the coalition, and against the opposition so they can show how much power they have,” Friedman said. “And within the Haredi world they are worried about internal pressure, so they are trying to show unity,” he said.
Some voices within the Haredi community are advocating a practical solution, including possibly allowing a small group of Haredi men who are not studying Jewish texts full-time to serve in the military, but the protests are an effort to unify and show force against any type of compromise, Friedman explained.
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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Joseph Federman contributed from Jerusalem.