Ultra-Orthodox conscription debate ignites Israel’s election battleground
Israel's election heats up over ultra-Orthodox conscription debate, reflecting deep societal and political divides.
From the fallout of multi-fronted wars and demands for accountability over security failures to mounting concerns over the cost of living, Israelis are grappling with a series of crises ahead of the October 27 election.
Yet one contentious issue has come to dominate headlines during the campaign: whether Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority should serve in the military.
An estimated 80,000 ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, men aged between 18 and 24 are currently avoiding military service, a figure whose significance grows with every report of staff shortages in the Israeli army.
In early October, a group of Haredim clashed with Israeli forces seeking to arrest a draft dodger in Modi’in, drawing condemnation from Netanyahu’s opponents. Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar (“straight” or “honest”) party currently holds a narrow lead over Netanyahu’s Likud, described the incident as reflecting “the same dangerous world view that seeks to make draft evasion the norm and portray those who fulfil their duty to the state as suckers”.