With current ultra-Orthodox enlistment law set to expire, efforts to pass new legislation intensify

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) sent a letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief-of-Staff Herzi Halevi on Sunday stating that the current military exemption of the ultra-Orthodox community will expire at the end of the month. 

MQG, a non-profit, grassroots organization, also submitted a letter to Israel's Supreme Court on Monday.

Israel's National Service Law currently sets the annual allotment of ultra-Orthodox draftees to the Israel Defense Forces. The law also determines legal consequences, including sanctions, for yeshivas (religious study schools), which do not allow enough students to meet the enrollment allotments. 

This National Service Law was passed in 2015 but two years later was ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for violating the idea of equality. Specifically, the Supreme Court said the law did not contain mechanisms for enforcing ultra-Orthodox enlistment. 

The Supreme Court gave the Knesset one year to amend the bill, which has since been delayed several times.

According to the MQG's letter, the original bill was set to expire at the end of this month, on June 30. Thus, while the latest extension expires on July 31, the original bill expires before that. 

In its letter to Gallant and Halevi, MQG said, “We regret that the state did not prepare for this ahead of time, and we expect it to uphold the language of the law and take action to draft all yeshiva students.” 

On Tuesday morning, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders the ultra-Orthodox coalition parties met on Monday evening to discuss a new bill regarding conscription of ultra-Orthodox men. 

Coalition leaders held several meetings regarding a new ultra-Orthodox conscription law in April, hoping to come up with a new law to pass with the coalition budget, as agreements between the Likud and United Torah Judaism parties had required that the new conscription law be passed at the same time as the budget.

If a new law is not passed soon, the IDF will be required to start sending conscription notices to eligible yeshiva students beginning July 1. 

The coalition allegedly has enough votes to pass the legislation when it is agreed upon. 

While military service is mandatory for most Israeli Jews, the overwhelming majority of ultra-Orthodox Jews do not serve due to religious and ideological reasons, and instead have traditionally completed their religious Jewish education before entering the workforce.