Rashi Mehta
Increasing Manpower to Sustain Conflict
Israeli military commanders have emphasised the need for additional manpower to sustain ongoing conflicts with the Hamas militant group in Gaza and the Hezbollah militia based in Lebanon. The current extension comes after the compulsory service period was reduced from 36 months to 32 months in 2014. However, after ten months of intense fighting with Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, the Israeli army faces significant losses and an urgent need to replenish its ranks.
Despite extensive military operations that have resulted in the destruction of large areas in Gaza and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, the Israeli military has not been able to dismantle Hamas or its fighting brigades. Since October 7, the Qassam Brigades have inflicted severe casualties on Israeli forces, killing hundreds of soldiers and injuring thousands more, many of whom are unlikely to return to active duty.
Drafting Ultra-Orthodox Seminary Students
In a parallel initiative, Israel plans to issue draft notices to thousands of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) seminary students who were previously exempt from military service. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has underscored the necessity of drafting more soldiers, including from the Haredi Jewish population, to meet the military’s personnel needs.
The ultra-Orthodox community has historically resisted military conscription, prioritising religious study of the Torah over military service. However, recent developments have intensified criticism from Israelis who serve in the army, accusing the Haredi of not sharing the national defence burden. The legal exemption allowed Haredi men to avoid the draft as long as they were enrolled in religious study at a yeshiva, but in practice, many received exemptions without meeting this criterion.
The Israeli High Court recently ruled that there is no longer a legal basis for exempting Haredi yeshiva students from mandatory military service. Following this ruling, the attorney general instructed the government to commence the conscription process for 3,000 Haredi men out of approximately 63,000 eligible for the draft. Defense Minister Gallant announced that the military will begin drafting Haredi men starting next month, marking a significant shift in Israel’s conscription policy.
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