Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest in Jerusalem
Move to end military exemption advances
JERUSALEM – Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked the main entrance to Jerusalem on Sunday in a mammoth prayer vigil to protest plans to draft thousands of their young men for military service.
Chanting prayers and verses from the Psalms, a sea of swaying men in black hats and suits thundered “God is the Lord!” as banners proclaimed “The Torah is our life.”
The gathering was called after a parliamentary committee approved a bill that would set gradual quotas for conscripting up to 5,200 ultra-Orthodox young men annually for military or other national service, in accordance with Israel’s compulsory conscription law. Ultra-Orthodox who refuse to report for service would become liable to be charged with draft-dodging.
All Israelis are required to serve in the army when they reach 18, but under a decadeslong arrangement reached in the early years of statehood, ultra-Orthodox religious students were exempt from service. The exemption became a major source of resentment, however, as the number of exemptions ballooned to tens of thousands, with many of the religious students living on government subsidies.
The call to draft the ultra-Orthodox and integrate them into the Israeli workforce – “sharing the burden” – was the battle cry of Yesh Atid, the second-largest party in the governing coalition, led by Finance Minister Yair Lapid, who has spearheaded the proposed legislation.
“There’s a link between rights and duties, and there can’t be a community that is exempt from duties,” Lapid said on Channel 10 TV. “This is not an attack on the world of the Torah. When you live in a state you owe it certain duties.”
For the protesters, the proposed conscription steps are an assault on a way of life that venerates full-time religious study as a supreme value.
“Even secular Israelis understand that it’s important to have people studying Torah, which preserves the Jewish people and helps everyone,” said Tzion Fahima, 38, who traveled to the protest from the southern town of Ofakim.