The spiritual leader of the main ultra-Orthodox party in Israel’s ruling coalition said he opposes conscription of Haredi Jews, even if they are unemployed or uneducated young people.
This week, Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld a petition by civil society groups calling on the government to begin conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews who for decades have been exempt from military service because they are religious students.
Rabbi Moshe Maya, a senior member of the Shas Torah Council of Sages, said his ultra-Orthodox party opposes the inclusion of all Haredi Jews, regardless of their education or employment status.
“Those who don’t study are forbidden to join the army. Those who study are breaking the Sabbath,” Maya said. The Israel Times.
Shas is one of the main ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led government and appears to be the fiercest opponent of the Haredi bill in Israeli politics.
The party is led by Aryeh Deri, a controversial far-right politician who has been convicted of tax evasion, and represents Israel’s Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi communities, particularly those who attend yeshiva seminaries, who have traditionally avoided military conscription.
Secular Israelis, who must serve compulsory national service, have vehemently opposed exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, given the tensions that have risen over mass conscription during the Gaza war.
Maya said that despite the enlistment of thousands of reservists, including those living abroad, he would continue to oppose conscription of Haredi sects because religious studies are essential to Israel’s war on Gaza, where some 38,000 Palestinians have been killed and the enclave completely destroyed.
“Without Torah students, there would have been many more deaths. [for Israel’s military]” Maya told Kol Balama.
“We pray for our soldiers for the return of our hostages and shed countless tears. Our role in the war is to study and learn, and the Almighty God will strike our enemies with kindness, weakness and fear.”
There are deep divisions within Netanyahu’s government over the issue, with his Shas party threatening to leave the party if the Haredi bill passes.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a member of the Likud party, has said Netanyahu must comply with the court order and begin conscription of Haredi Jews, a view supported by Israel’s opposition parties.
By law, Netanyahu must begin conscription for the Haredi community, which they say opposes, creating a tricky situation for him as he tries to keep ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition government.
