UPDATE - Israeli opposition leader opposes bill exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from conscription

UPDATES WITH DEFENSE MINISTER REMARKS

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid attacked on Sunday the draft conscription law that will be introduced later this week considering it a reflection of “the most terrible government in the country’s history.”

“The exemption bill that will be introduced this week is the face of the most terrible government in the country's history: lies, evasion of responsibility, discrimination between blood and blood,” said Lapid on X.

“No shame,” he added, noting that “after six months of a painful war, the IDF (Israeli forces) is short of soldiers, and the government is offering an exemption from conscription for tens of thousands of young men.”

“This is a disgrace and anyone who continues to sit in this government is a participant in this disgrace,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday disowned the exemption bill planned to be presented to the Israeli government on Tuesday.

“I will not stand behind this bill and I will not support it,” he said.

“There is still time to sit down together and draft a joint proposal,” said Gallant, calling on Netanyahu and War Council Minister Benny Gantz "to use the remaining time to form a consensus on the conscription law for the benefit of the Israeli army and the State of Israel."

Recently in Israel, the conscription controversy returned to the forefront after the right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu sought to approve a draft law excluding ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service and increasing the period of compulsory service from 32 to 36 months.

The decision was met with widespread rejection from the opposition led by Lapid, who called for ultra-Orthodox Jews to perform military service like others.

The issue of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews who evade military service under the pretext of devoting themselves to studying the Torah has always been a thorny issue in Israeli society.

Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has threatened earlier in March that ultra-Orthodox Jews will leave the country if they are forced to serve in the army.

Under current Israeli law, Jews educated at yeshivas (religious schools) are exempted from military service.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

More than 32,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 74,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi