Israeli army plans to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews as of Sunday: Report

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army plans to start drafting thousands of ultra-Orthodox men for military service as of Sunday, according to Israeli media on Tuesday.

Last month, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the ultra-Orthodox men, or the Haredi, must be conscripted into the army and that financial aid should be withheld from religious institutions whose students do not comply with military service requirements.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the army will recruit thousands of Haredi Jews as of Sunday.

The army sees sending these drafts “as necessary to enlist the required numbers, as relying solely on voluntary enlistment is not sufficient," it said.

Haredi Jews, who make up about 13% of Israel's population of approximately 9.9 million, do not serve in the military, citing a commitment to study the Torah, Judaism's holy book.

Israeli law requires every Israeli citizen over 18 years old to serve in the military, and the exemption of Haredi from service has been a controversial issue for decades.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 38,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 89,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala