“We must all go to the army”: the ultra-Orthodox exemption bill divides Israelis and threatens Benjamin Netanyahu

Will Benjamin Netanyahu fall? Wednesday, May 20, it’s double or nothing for the Israeli government: either it presents its very divisive law of exemption of the ultraorthodox from the army and takes the risk of being disowned by its own majority, or it will undergo a motion of censure that the ultraorthodox parties with the opposition could vote on.

The ultra-Orthodox are, however, members of the ruling coalition, but remain very angry with the Prime Minister, who has not kept his promise to enshrine their definitive exclusion from the military effort into law. After more than two years of war, the question of everyone’s participation in the army could spell the end of the most far-right government in Israeli history. This is no surprise, Israeli society is divided and tensions have been rising for a while.

On the one hand, there is a part of Israeli society that is fighting. Yahav spent 300 days in reserve in the army, in Gaza, Lebanon and the territories occupied for almost three years. The young man supports Benjamin Netanyahu and will also vote again for the Prime Minister. He believes in God and wears a kippah. However, he does not understand why the ultraorthodox do not contribute to the country’s defense. “Everyone wants to live their life, but in Israel the situation is complicated. All Israelis must go to the army. The government must do more.”

And then, there is the other part of Israeli society which prays to God, lives on the margins in its neighborhoods and benefits, since the creation of the state, from an exemption from military service. In 1948, the ultraorthodox numbered only a few hundred. Today, they represent more than 15% of the population, and no one understands the arguments that Daniel develops anymore: “The army is not adapted to our way of life. There are ideas contrary to the Torah, like diversity, for example.”

It is therefore this exemption that the government, under pressure from its ultraorthodox allies, wants to include in the law and therefore perpetuate. But the coalition is divided and the measure very unpopular.