The decision follows years of controversy, in which the once small ultra-Orthodox minority has mushroomed into a community that makes up more than 12 percent of the population, whose political parties have backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalitions in exchange for his continuation of their exemption from military service.
They are the fastest-growing minority and receive government subsidies for privately run schools and religious and social organizations. Politicians have for years promised to cut them off, decrying the systems that allow their quasi-autonomous societies to exist within Israel, all while eschewing taxes (because few work) or military service (because few enlist).
Now, many Israelis say they can no longer afford to support them.
The tensions have come into sharper focus in the nine months since Oct. 7, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and dragged about 250 more as hostages into Gaza. The resulting war has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, which do not distinguish between combatants and civilians but say the majority of the dead are women and children.
On the border with Lebanon, Israel has been exchanging deadly fire with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. Counterterrorism raids are increasing in the West Bank, too, where Hamas and other armed militant groups have been recruiting for years.
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On all fronts, Israeli soldiers are being killed in large numbers, and resentment for the ultra-Orthodox has been mounting.
According to a survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), a nonpartisan think tank based in Jerusalem, 81 percent of Jewish Israelis favor changing the ultra-Orthodox exemption, with 45 percent supporting “coercive” measures and 36 percent preferring “persuasive” methods.
“The war has sharpened the need for the participation of all segments of society in carrying the burden of the country’s security … [and] a vast majority of Israelis believe that the social contract needs to be renegotiated,” said Shuki Friedman, vice president of the JPPI.
But he said the ultra-Orthodox also, similarly, face a dilemma.
“On the one hand, they want to prevent this disaster, from their perspective. But on the other hand, if the government will collapse and go to elections, the result might be less good and they can get even less of a compromise for their side,” he said, referring to the opposition politicians who have been polling ahead of Netanyahu and have pledged to represent a wide range of attitudes.
Parker reported from Jerusalem.