Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked roads in Jerusalem on Sunday as Israel’s Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case challenging a controversial system of exemptions from military service for the religious community.
The court is investigating the legality of the exemptions, which have divided the country and threatened the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s governing coalition. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Most Jewish men and women in Israel must complete mandatory military service at the age of 18. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox have traditionally received exemptions from studying full-time at religious seminaries. These exemptions have angered the general public, especially as hundreds of soldiers have been killed in the war with Hamas.
During Sunday’s arguments, government lawyers told the judges that forcing ultra-Orthodox men to enlist would “tear Israeli society apart.” The court set a target of hiring 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men per year – more than double the current level, but still less than 25% of their total numbers.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police cleared demonstrators from roads and forcibly removed those who briefly blocked the city’s light rail. Protesters chanted “to prison and not to the army.”
In March, the court ordered an end to government subsidies for many ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the military.
Netanyahu faces a court-imposed deadline of June 30 to pass a new law that would end the broad exemptions. But he depends on ultra-Orthodox parties to support his government, and ending the exemptions could force them to leave and trigger new elections.
