The bitter row over military service that could shape Israel's future

The dispute is over whether ultra-Orthodox men studying in yeshivas should serve in Israel’s military. For decades, many religious students were exempt. That arrangement became far more controversial as Israel fought wars on several fronts and the army reported a manpower deficit. Many other Israelis have served hundreds of days in the past three years, making the exemption feel increasingly unequal.

A flashpoint came in Modi’in in early October. Police went to arrest a young Haredi man who had failed to report for service. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters confronted military police and called Israeli security forces “Nazis.” The clash was one of several recent confrontations described in the article.

Haredi rabbis say military service can expose young men to influences that weaken their religious way of life. They also believe Torah study provides spiritual protection for Israel. Wider Israeli society increasingly rejects that argument, while the government must balance public pressure with the political power of Haredi parties.

“Ultra-Orthodox” or “Haredi” describes a Jewish community that places intense emphasis on religious law, tradition, and the study of sacred texts. The article presents Haredim as a distinct group within Israeli society, rather than simply as another religious population. Their community life is organized around preserving its traditions and protecting its boundaries.

Their education system is separate from the mainstream system and focuses almost exclusively on texts such as the Torah, the Jewish Bible. Many Haredi men study full time in yeshivas. Religious students and their rabbis fear that military service could expose them to influences and behavior that might pull them away from their community.

The community is changing Israel because its population is growing quickly. It receives government stipends that support full-time religious study, and many members are not part of the workforce. Those facts have intensified arguments about equality, public spending, military service, and the group’s place in wider society.

Israel’s Haredi population is estimated at about 14% of the country’s total population. It is growing faster than other Israeli communities because the birth rate within the ultra-Orthodox community remains much higher. The article says that, if this pace continues, Haredim could form one-third of Israel’s Jewish population by 2050.

The community’s size matters because its needs and political influence are expanding. Many Haredi men devote themselves to full-time religious study rather than joining the wider workforce. Their education system is separate, and their continued military exemption has become harder for other Israelis to accept.

Government support is also substantial. Subsidies for the Haredi community are estimated to cost 35bn shekels, or £8.4bn, every year. As the population grows, arguments over this spending, workforce participation, and military obligations are likely to become more prominent in Israeli politics.

Full-time yeshiva students were originally exempted during the earliest days of the Israeli state. The Haredi community was then a minuscule group of Holocaust survivors struggling to rebuild. The arrangement treated religious study as a special priority for a community that had suffered near extinction.

The exemption allowed students at traditional religious institutions to devote themselves fully to studying Jewish texts. For Haredi leaders, this was not merely an educational choice. They believed preserving religious learning and community traditions was essential to the survival of the Jewish people and Israel.

The original context has changed. The Haredi population has expanded, while Israel has become more embattled and is fighting on several fronts. The army has reported a manpower deficit, and many other Israelis have served hundreds of days. As a result, an exemption created for a tiny recovering minority is now at the center of a much wider argument about equal responsibility.

If Haredi men continue not to serve, Israel’s military readiness could come under greater pressure. The article says the IDF has already bemoaned a manpower deficit, while many Israelis have served hundreds of days during the past three years. Fewer available soldiers could make that burden harder to sustain during wars on several fronts.

The economic effects could also deepen. Many Haredi men are not part of the workforce, while government subsidies for the community cost an estimated 35bn shekels annually. Other Israelis may see this as an unfair burden on taxpayers, especially when they are also carrying long military commitments.

Social cohesion could suffer as well. Public support for conscripting Haredim has surged, and many Israelis view non-service as a dereliction of responsibility. Continued disagreement could expose the fault line further, increasing pressure on the government and making the Haredi exemption a central political conflict.

When no political alliance wins an outright majority, smaller parties can determine which larger bloc forms a government. The article identifies Haredi parties as especially important because their support can help decide who governs Israel. Their influence comes from their ability to join or support a larger political alliance.

This gives Haredi parties leverage over major policy questions, including military service and their community’s special status. A prime minister seeking to stay in power may need their backing even when wider Israeli society is pressing for the exemption to be reduced. Their parliamentary support therefore connects electoral arithmetic with the national debate over service and subsidies.

The article says Benjamin Netanyahu needs to keep the ultra-Orthodox parties on side to have any chance of remaining in power. That remains true despite growing pressure to diminish their special status. The result is a political tension between coalition survival and demands for equal contribution.

Compulsory military service works as a social contract because citizens are expected to share responsibility for defending the state, while the state organizes and supports that service. In Israel, this expectation links personal duty with national security. The article shows why the arrangement matters more during wars, when the army needs personnel and many families face repeated call-ups.

The Haredi exemption interrupts that shared obligation. Yeshiva students can devote themselves to Torah learning instead of serving, while other Israelis have served hundreds of days in the past three years. Haredi leaders defend the arrangement by saying religious study spiritually protects Israel and preserves the Jewish people.

As the Haredi population grows, the exemption is harder to treat as a narrow historic exception. Many Israelis see it as a failure to contribute fairly, especially alongside government subsidies and low workforce participation. That perception can weaken trust and intensify social and political conflict.