(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously rules the ultra-Orthodox must serve in the military [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-25 Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, the Haredim, believe they should enjoy all the benefits of belonging to a modern state without any of the human costs associated with protecting it. Israel has mandatory military service for young adults. The ultra-Orthodox have long demanded their young be exempt from this collective national duty. To justify this refusal to fight for their country, they argue that the 63,000 young men currently studying the Torah at the country’s yeshivas provide the ‘spiritual backbone’ of the Jewish state. The majority of non-ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews view this as a ‘bone spurs’ excuse. On Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court agreed with them . A nine-member panel unanimously ruled that the military exemption for one group is an unconstitutional, legal fiction. Henceforth, every qualified Israeli is required to serve without religious exceptions. The ultra-Orthodox are not taking this lying down. Working in their favor is the fact that their support gives Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and his far-right coalition, political power. And Bibi needs to stay in power to postpone the verdict in his corruption trial , which has been going on since 2020. As long as he’s Prime Minister, the case is on hold. Sound familiar? However, a threat to leave the governing cabal is probably toothless. If the politically astute Netanyahu realizes that a law to shield one group from military service, during a shooting war, is a non-starter, what are the Haredim going to do? If they dump Bibi, where else are they going to go? Regardless, it is good to see a superior court ignore political pressure and do the right thing. Israel’s top court , unlike the US Supreme Court, enjoys good polling numbers. It is also the only national institution that has a positive approval rating from both Jewish and Arab Israelis. Both groups will react favorably to the decision. The ultra-Orthodox exemption from religious service dates back to the founding of modern Israel. The nascent state granted the privilege when the number of ultra-Orthodox of military age was in the hundreds. Now, because of their dedication to large families, the Haredim represent 13% of Israel’s population. The conscription of the ultra-Orthodox comes with challenges. The Israeli Defense Force [IDF] would have to absorb a population that has a little idea of how the real world works. And might prove to be a bunch of malcontents, negatively impacting unit cohesion and overall morale. I do not think that will be an issue. Professional militaries have centuries of experience in getting people who do not want to fight, to fight as a motivated cohesive unit. The bigger problem might be, what happens if they refuse to be inducted? To make that less likely, the Court has also ruled that government stipends paid to students at religious schools are also illegal. This taxpayer largess is not the only cash on offer. Israel pays child allowances. Because ultra-Orthodox families are large, these payments can be quite substantial. In addition, because so many Haredim are uneducated beyond religious studies, they are shut out of well-paying jobs. Because they cannot make money by earning it, they are heavily reliant on Israel’s relatively generous welfare system - which provides housing subsidies, income support, tax breaks, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, and support for elderly citizens. Many regular Israeli citizens are appalled at the chutzpah of a group whose existence is underwritten by the state, who in turn refuse to defend that state. On the other hand, some of the angst the leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community feel about this development, may not be fueled by religious considerations. Jewish religious fundamentalists rely on isolation to keep the young in the fold. If these cloistered people are blended with regular folks, God only knows what might happen to their religious convictions. It is hard to keep a young man on the farm, when he has been to the big city. Outside of Israel, the reaction may be mixed as well. On the one hand, many think that having one set of rules for the very religious and another for the less so, is unfair. On the other, the people who think the IDF is Netanyahu’s genocidal tool, will not be happy that it has a whole bunch of new blood. But that’s an analysis for another day. 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