Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant called Wednesday for ultra-Orthodox men to be drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the first time in more than 75 years of the State of Israel’s existence, due to current military needs.
Ultra-Orthodox men who are studying religion have been exempt from military service under an arrangement first made by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first leader. Since then, the religious population has boomed.
Some religious men do serve in the military, often in conjunction with religious study, but their service is voluntary. Some Israelis resent the additional burden the religious exemptions place on other citizens.
Gallant spoke as the IDF prepares for an increasingly likely war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, which has been firing missiles at Israeli communities since Hamas terrorists launched a war on Israel on October 7.
Reservists have been withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, even as the regular army continues to fight there, but it is clear that many may be called back to service within a few months if the IDF mobilizes to deal with the threat in the north.
The Times of Israel reported:
“To attain the goals of the war, to handle the threats from Gaza, from Lebanon, from Judea and Samaria, and to prepare for the emerging threats from the east, we need unity and partnership in decisions about our future,” Gallant says in a press conference.
…
“As the defense minister of the State of Israel, who commands the troops to the battlefield, I turn to my colleagues in the coalition and government, to all members of the Knesset, and to the entire public, and say: The State of Israel is the state of the Jewish people. The Torah protected the people of Israel throughout 2,000 years of exile.
We cherish and appreciate those who dedicate their lives to learning the Torah. However, without physical existence, there is no spiritual existence. Our security challenges demonstrate that everyone must bear the burden [of service]. All parts of society,” Gallant says.
Other leaders embraced the idea, notably opposition leader Yair Lapid, and Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, an opposition leader who has joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency national unity government.
However, the proposal will have to be handled carefully. The issue is a contentious one and the need for unity during the war remains urgent. Religious parties also have enough seats in the Knesset, and in Netanyahu’s coalition, to bring the government down.
But if handled well, a compromise could solve one of the most difficult cultural issues plaguing Israeli society for decades, and salvage something positive out of a war that has been so painful for the Israeli people.
Israelis cannot return to the towns along the northern border until Hezbollah stops firing or is removed from the area, either through diplomacy or war. Polls suggest the vast majority of Israelis would support a war against Hezbollah.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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