A revised IDF service bill is on its way to confirmation in the Knesset. Over the years, Israeli politicians and civil society groups have called for drafting young ultra-Orthodox men into the military instead of enabling them to stay in yeshivas and study. The new plan is a major concession of the left-center parties on the principle known as "sharing the burden.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman are closely associated with long-held demands that the ultra-Orthodox share the burden. Judging by the new plan, they seem to have realized that yeshiva students cannot be conscripted by force. They are now waiving military service for economic reasons, as way to bring these young people into the work force.

When the State of Israel was new, Prime Minister David ben Gurion struck a deal with the ultra-Orthodox leadership. The arrangement was that the several hundred yeshiva students could continue their Torah studies and not be drafted into the Israel Defense Forces despite the new country's compulsory military service. When the Likud rose to power at the end of the 1970s, the arrangement was broadened and within a decade the number of exemptions rose to the thousands, making up 15% of the population of conscription age.

The exemption from conscription was contingent on yeshiva study, leading ultra-Orthodox youths to stay in the schools until they aged out of conscription eligibility at 28. The long period of study meant that ultra-Orthodox remained excluded from working as well for many long years.