Military Service Exemption Bill Threatens To Further Divide Israel

New bill aims to increase ultra-Orthodox Jewish participation in the workforce by letting them skip military service even when not studying in religious institutions but is unlikely to satisfy either religious or secular Jews

A bill legislating a blanket military service exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews is expected to be discussed in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, next month. The contentious topic, which led to the fall of the Israeli government in 2019 as well as countless strikes and protests, is being discussed in an already fraught political atmosphere due to the government’s proposed judicial reforms.

While military service in Israel is mandatory for both men and women upon reaching the age of 18, ultra-Orthodox or Haredi Jews have been exempt from this duty since the founding of the state. A series of arrangements have allowed ultra-Orthodox men to receive an exemption by proving they are engaged in full-time religious studies. All religious women in Israel, including the ultra-Orthodox, can receive an automatic exemption with no study requirement.

The arrangement for the men was based on the belief that Torah study had a value to the state equal, if not superior, to military service. When the exemptions were first put into place, Israel’s population was much smaller than it is today, as was the percentage of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the population. Today, ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 13% of Israel’s 9 million citizens. In 1948, only about 1% of the population was ultra-Orthodox.

It is clear there is injustice. One side is expected to risk its life and the other is exempt from risking its life

As the years have gone by, secular Israeli society has become increasingly frustrated with the exemption for the ultra-Orthodox.

“The current law has resulted in the opposite situation than what was intended,” Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, told The Media Line. “Instead of everyone going into the army, it’s the opposite. The ultra-Orthodox society is exempt from the harshest obligation a country can impose on its citizens.”

Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman. (Courtesy)

“It is clear there is injustice. One side is expected to risk its life and the other is exempt from risking its life,” she said.

Ultra-Orthodox entrepreneur and author of When the Haredim Will Be a Majority Yitzik Crombie described the issue as complex.

“On the one hand, the military is not suited for the Haredis and there is concern that such service will distance them from the ultra-Orthodox world,” he told The Media Line. “On the other hand, there is true pain that others are serving and fighting, bearing the burden, while they are not.”

The orders that establish the ultra-Orthodox exemption are temporary, and the current order is set to expire this summer, forcing the government to come up with a new proposal.

“Both sides will be required to make huge and painful compromises,” Dr. Asaf Malchi, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, told The Media Line. “No one will be fully satisfied.”

Dr. Asaf Malchi. (Israel Democracy Institute)

Currently, ultra-Orthodox Jews who are studying Torah are exempt from service until the age of 26, at which point the draft expires. For example, an ultra-Orthodox Jew who leaves his religious studies at the age of 25 must enroll in the army. In an attempt to get more ultra-Orthodox Jews involved in the workforce, the government’s new proposal will lower the age limit to 21.

Some ultra-Orthodox Jews continue their religious studies until the age of 26 purely to avoid military service. According to the promoters of the proposal, lowering the age to 21 would allow more ultra-Orthodox Jews to leave their studies and start working without fear of being enlisted.

Under the current setup, many ultra-Orthodox Jews are falsely registered as attending religious institutions. The institutions receive state funding, and the students themselves receive a monthly stipend from the government.

This dynamic reveals the deep-rooted nature of the problem of ultra-Orthodox enlistment. Not only do ultra-Orthodox Jews not serve in the army, but they also participate less in the workforce and pay less in taxes than other Israelis.

“There is simply no solution to this problem,” Crombie said. “Everyone understands it is not realistic to enlist all the Haredi population or do it by force.”

The number of ultra-Orthodox men who volunteer for military service is minuscule. A few hundred enter the army every year while tens of thousands continue to receive exemptions.

The ultra-Orthodox population is the fastest-growing segment in Israeli society, at a rate of 4% annually. The average ultra-Orthodox family has six children, double that of a secular Jewish family.

The growth of the ultra-Orthodox sector demonstrates the need to address the issue, which will have a significant impact on Israel’s future.

There is a gap between bearing the financial burden and the military burden. Until now it was a zero-sum game—if you don’t do military service, you can’t work.

Tensions between secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews also stem from their relatively low participation in the workforce. Almost 80% of ultra-Orthodox women work, but only about half of ultra-Orthodox men do.

“There is a gap between bearing the financial burden and the military burden. Until now it was a zero-sum game—if you don’t do military service, you can’t work,” Crombie said. “The linkage between the two needs to be stopped. There should not be an added challenge or barrier to entering the workforce by binding the entry to military service.”

If ultra-Orthodox men continue to find themselves outside of the workforce, the prospects for Israel’s economy are grim.

Crombie insisted that the question of ultra-Orthodox employment should be addressed first, but acknowledged the importance of the enlistment debate as well.

“An exemption from service from the age of 21 actually means giving up on Haredi participation in the military,” he said.

Israel has been engulfed in a political crisis since the swearing-in of the government last year. An unprecedented wave of protests broke out in response to the planned judicial reforms. The issue of conscription has been part and parcel of this crisis. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, senior partners in the coalition, have insisted on the new conscription law and have tied it to the judicial reform.

A major part of the judicial reform is the override clause, which would allow the Knesset to overturn decisions made by the Supreme Court. Given that previous attempts to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service have been contested by the Supreme Court, passing the reform would allow the ultra-Orthodox parties to legislate the exemption regardless of whether the court thinks it passes constitutional muster.

According to Shafran Gittleman, the current proposal will likely be annulled by the court because it contradicts the principle of equality.

“The reforms and conscription are deeply tied,” Malchi said. “The ultra-Orthodox parties, which have gained a lot of political power in recent years, [were] almost intoxicated by it, are looking to fortify their religious world.”

In order to do that, they need the courts.

The reform legislation is currently frozen as a result of the massive public protest, but a political crisis could ensue if the government chose to abandon the overhaul completely.

In an attempt to acknowledge the inequality caused by the ultra-Orthodox exemption, and also to appease the courts, the coalition proposed last week financial incentives for young Israelis serving in combat.

“The current proposal will bring a collapse of the ‘people’s army’,” Shafran Gittleman said. She noted that the ethos of military service is at the heart of the current wave of protests.

Military service makes up a significant part of many Israelis’ identities. The ultra-Orthodox community sees the educational and cultural aspects of military service as a threat to their closed society.

“The army is not only about security. It is seen as the molder of Israeli society that educates Israelis on values,” Crombie said. “The Haredi society doesn’t want to be molded by someone else.”

Many Israelis also use their military service as a springboard to the working world. Ultra-Orthodox Jews are therefore at a disadvantage when entering the work world—but a disadvantage of their own making.

As the Knesset opens its summer session next week, this touchy subject is expected to dominate the agenda and perhaps serve as more fuel for the protest movement.

“In the current public environment, which is very combative, it is hard to see any side accepting compromise,” Malchi said.