Haredi religious school students protest against a law requiring them to conscript into the Israeli army (French)

A Haredi rabbi said that they are ready to sacrifice themselves in rejection of their conscription law, while an Israeli official said that the army intends to create recruitment and service frameworks dedicated to the Haredim only.

Israeli Channel 12 quoted Haredi Rabbi Moshe Hillel as saying, “We are prepared to sacrifice ourselves if yeshiva students are forced to conscript.”

Hillel added, "Israel's survival until now is only due to the presence of the Torah in its land," stressing that "those who support the conscription law hate us and hate the Torah, and we will stand against them."

For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted an Israeli official as saying that the Israeli army intends to establish recruitment and service frameworks dedicated to the Haredim only.

The official explained that the army is planning to establish a secondary religious school in the Jordan Valley whose students will be a combat battalion in the Border Guard, indicating that the army will not mind the Haredim studying the Torah or changing their lifestyle during military service.

The official confirmed that the Israeli army intends to go to the rabbis of the ultra-Orthodox community to convince them to support the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox youth, noting that closed talks will be held between the army and the rabbis aimed at asking the rabbis to show “courageous leadership.”

The Israeli official said that recruiting ultra-Orthodox will reduce the burden on the reserve system, especially since extending compulsory service to 36 months will not be enough to meet the army’s immediate needs.

Sa'ar said that Netanyahu stipulated his support for the conscription law in exchange for joining the war council (Reuters)

Sa'ar attacks Netanyahu

For his part, resigned Israeli Minister Gideon Saar said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stipulated his support for the conscription law in exchange for his joining the war council.

Sa'ar added, "I joined a bad government that I opposed from its first day, and I entered it only for the sake of war," stressing the necessity of changing Netanyahu's government, because it is not even good at managing the war.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Justice in Israel issued a temporary decision to freeze the budgets allocated to religious schools whose students do not enroll in compulsory conscription, starting from the beginning of next April.

The Israeli government's judicial advisor, Gali Behrav Meara, had sent to the Israeli Supreme Court that the recruitment of religious people, known as Haredim, must begin as of the beginning of next month.

In recent days, the government has failed to reach an acceptable formula regarding the recruitment of Haredim, which makes them obligated to enlist starting Monday.

The Haredim constitute about 13% of Israel's population. They do not serve in the army, and they say that they devote their lives to studying the Torah in theological institutes.

The law requires every Israeli male and female over the age of 18 to serve in the military, while the exclusion of the Haredim from service has raised controversy for decades.

But their failure to serve in the military, in conjunction with the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since last October 7 and the army’s losses, increased the intensity of the controversy. Secular parties (in the government and opposition) are demanding that the Haredim participate in bearing the burdens of the war.

Since 2017, successive governments have failed to reach a consensus law regarding Haredi recruitment, after the Supreme Court annulled a law enacted in 2015 that exempted them from military service, considering that the exemption violates the principle of equality.

Source: Al Jazeera + Anatolia