Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday his government would find a way to end exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from the IDF in the face of political pressures that threaten his narrow Coalition's future.
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"We will determine goals for conscripting the ultra-Orthodox to the IDF and national civil service," Netanyahu said at a press conference. "We will also determine the ways to implement those goals."
Video: Israel says access to Al Aqsa mosque over Ramadan still under review / Credit: Reuters
"I deeply appreciate the Torah study of our ultra-orthodox brothers," he continued. "I also recognize and appreciate their joining the civilian emergency and rescue organizations that are doing sacred work. However, in addition to this, I must say: One cannot ignore the sense among the public over the gap in sharing the security burden.
"I am certain that it is possible to secure a Knesset majority for this arrangement but one thing is clear to me: It is impossible to achieve absolute agreement. Do you know where there is absolute agreement? In North Korea. In a democracy, there is the agreement of the majority. Whoever demands absolute agreement will not achieve any agreement," Netanyahu said .
The Supreme Court in 2018 voided a law waiving the draft for ultra-Orthodox men, citing a need for the burden of military service to be shared across Israeli society. The Knesset failed to come up with a new arrangement, and a government-issued stay on the mandatory conscription of the ultra-Orthodox expires in March.
Ultra-Orthodox parties have helped Netanyahu hold a narrow parliamentary majority alongside far-Right nationalist parties but in past governments have made draft exemption a condition for remaining in the Coalition.
Netanyahu appeared to be responding to a pledge made by his defense minister to veto a law that would allow the continuation of exemptions unless the government reached an agreement paving a path for ultra-Orthodox enlistment.
"We recognize and support those who dedicate their life to studying Jewish holy scripture but, with that, without physical existence there is no spiritual existence," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday.
The exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews have been a longstanding source of friction with more secular citizens now stoked by the country's costly mobilization for the Gaza War.
The ultra-Orthodox claim the right to study in seminaries instead of serving in uniform for the standard three years. Some say their observant lifestyles would clash with military mores, while others voice ideological opposition to the liberal state.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 13% of Israel's population, a figure expected to reach 19% by 2035 due to their high birth rates. Economists argue that the draft exemption keeps some of them unnecessarily in seminaries and out of the workforce.
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