Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian FM spokesperson denies Trump’s claims about Iran requesting a meeting with the US: We have made no such request to the American side
OHCHR: We have concerns that Nasser's arrest is part of efforts to eliminate legitimate forms of Palestinian expression
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Six killed or injured in Israeli drone strike on displaced persons’ tents in Sanabel camp, al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Several injuries reported as a result of the drone strike on the displaced persons' tent in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: An Israeli drone strike targeted a tent housing displaced Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip
Al-Quds Brigades: Yesterday, we targeted an Israeli special forces unit with a guided 107mm rocket, after it took cover inside a residential building on Al-Mars Street in central Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip
Abu Obeida: The endurance of our people and the heroism of our resistance fighters alone set the terms and map the future course
Abu Obeida: If the occupation managed, by some miracle, to extract its soldiers from the inferno, it may not be able to do so again, and next time, they could fall into our hands as new captives
Abu Obeida: The war of attrition our fighters are fighting across the entire Gaza Strip, from the north to south, will continue to cost the enemy more losses by the day
Abu Obeida: Our fighters launched their attack from the very ruins the occupation believed were devoid of life

Knesset revives ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill amid internal rifts

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli media
  • 11 Jun 2024 11:49
4 Min Read

The Israeli opposition criticizes the coalition for pushing forward the measure and condemns the occupation government for endorsing military service exemptions.

Listen
  • x
  • Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and youth raise placards during a protest against Israeli army conscription outside an army recruitment office in al-Quds on April 11, 2024. (AFP)
    Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and youth raise placards during a protest against Israeli army conscription outside an army recruitment office in al-Quds on April 11, 2024. (AFP)

The internal rift continues to grow in "Israel" as lawmakers voted 63-57 to proceed with a bill from the previous Knesset concerning the drafting of ultra-Orthodox Haredi students, reviving the controversial legislation amid the ongoing war on Gaza.

The vote was to resume the legislative process from where it had previously left off, without starting anew in the current session. The legislation will now proceed to the "Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee" for the second and third readings required for the bill to pass.

If eventually passed, the bill would lower the exemption age of mandatory service for Haredi yeshiva students from 26 to 21 and gradually increase the rate of ultra-Orthodox conscription.

Although several coalition members opposed the measure, Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant of Likud was the only one who ultimately voted against it. He left the assembly hall shortly after casting his vote.

“The people of Israel long for agreements – national changes are carried out with broad agreement,” Gallant later said in a post on X. “We must not engage in petty politics at the expense of IDF soldiers.”

Opposition official Yair Lapid sharply criticized the coalition over the vote, denouncing it as “one of the most despicable moments of humiliation of the Israeli Knesset ever.”

In a statement, Lapid said, "In the midst of another day of hard fighting in the Gaza Strip, the reckless government passes a law of evasion and insubordination. It’s all politics. Zero values."

The big picture

Related News

Israeli forces commit two massacres in Gaza overnight

Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize as Gaza bleeds

Tuesday's vote occurred amid a heated public and legal discourse surrounding the issue of blanket exemptions for ultra-Orthodox individuals from military conscription. Concurrently, the High Court of Justice is reviewing numerous petitions urging the immediate drafting of young Haredi men.

Read next: Boiling pot: 'Israel's' ideological discord

For decades, ultra-Orthodox men of military age have avoided Israeli army conscription by enrolling in yeshivas for Torah study and obtaining repeated one-year service deferrals until reaching the age of exemption. In 2017, the High Court ruled such mass exemptions illegal and discriminatory. Subsequent occupation governments have attempted without success to devise new legislation to address the issue while seeking repeated deferrals from the court.

Dive deeper

Netanyahu has insisted on presenting the law since last month, despite the opinion of the government's legal advisor, Gali Baharav Miara, that there are legal obstacles to proceeding with it.

Baharav Miara considered the proposal unsuitable for the current reality and has not met the requests and needs of the security establishment and the Israeli army since the beginning of the current war on Gaza.

The issue of lifting some of the restrictions imposed on the conscription of the Haredim in the occupation army has been a contentious issue for decades in an entity where military service is widely regarded as a cornerstone of its security.

This issue, which has angered many secular Israelis, has become more sensitive than ever since the beginning of the war on Gaza.

The Haredim constitute about 13% of the Israeli settler communities and do not serve in the Israeli army, claiming to dedicate their lives to the study of the Torah.

Jewish religious leaders and ultra-Orthodox parties reject enlistment in the army, believing that they play an important role in protecting "Israel" through their religious role and their continuous prayers and supplications and that their fighting will lead to the destruction of "Israel". 

Read more: Haredi Jews burn Israeli flag outside recruitment center in Tel Aviv

  • war on Gaza
  • Haredi jews
  • Gaza genocide
  • Benjamin Netanyahu
  • ltra-orthodox enlistment bill
  • Israeli occupation
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Syria demands 1/3 of Golan, Lebanese areas for 'Israel' peace deal

Syria demands 1/3 of Golan, Lebanese areas for 'Israel' normalization

  • MENA
  • 4 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • Today
Al-Qassam hits IOF groupings in Khan Younis; ‘tough incident’ reported

3 Israeli soldiers killed by Resistance gunfire in south, north Gaza

  • Palestine
  • 4 Jul 2025
Concrete and rubble fall from a heavily damaged building as Israeli soldiers search for survivors in a residential area hit by a missile fired from Iran, near Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, Sunday, June 15, 2025 (AP)

'Israel' concealed damage inflicted by Iran in war, report finds

  • Politics
  • 5 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Big beautiful bill's ugly reality for American healthcare
US & Canada

'Big beautiful bill's' ugly reality for American healthcare

Ukrainian Forces struggle to hold Eastern front lines: NYT
Europe

Ukrainian forces struggle to hold eastern frontlines: NYT

Plan proposes transit camps for Gazans ahead of possible relocation
US & Canada

GHF proposed 'transit areas' plan prior to Gaza residents 'relocation'

Lavrov: IAEA will be held accountable for pre-strike Iran assessments
Europe

IAEA to be held accountable for pre-strike Iran assessments: Lavrov

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS