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What Israel's Supreme Court ruling to draft ultra-Orthodox means for Netanyahu

Israel's Supreme Court ruled unanimously that there is no justification for the state to exempt young ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

Israeli police disperse Ultra-Orthodox Jews blocking a highway during a protest against possible changes regarding the laws on the military draft from which the Ultra-Orthodox community has traditionally been exempt, in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak, on June 20, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli police disperse Ultra-Orthodox Jews blocking a highway during a protest against possible changes regarding the laws on the military draft from which the Ultra-Orthodox community has traditionally been exempt, in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak, on June 20, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. — ACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men for military service, and instructed the state to freeze the allocation of funds for all rabbinical institutions that do not comply starting April 1.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders have warned in the past few weeks that if the government will not find a solution to preserve the exemption of the community from being drafted to the army, they will quit the coalition and force Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold new elections.

A unanimous decision

The nine-judge panel ruled unanimously on the issue, criticizing the government for its conduct since June 30, 2023, when the legal clause enabling the exemption of young ultra-Orthodox men who study in yeshivas from military draft expired. 

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