Israel's ultra-Orthodox protest first draft notices outside army base

Israeli ultra-Orthodox men launched a protest outside an Israeli army base on Monday following a draft call for 1,200 men from the community following decades of exclusion from military conscription.

The 1,200 draftees, who received their call up following a divisive Supreme Court ruling that determined the exemption on their ultra-Orthodox Jewish community as illegal, are set to arrive at the Tel Hashomer base on Monday and Tuesday.

Religious students had been exempted from the draft but many had kept this status for decades while others had dropped out of their studies.

According to Haaretz, the draft notices were sent to men registered as working by the National Insurance Institute, meaning they were not complying with the original terms of the exemption which pertained to Yeshiva students.

Israel's Shas Party, an ultra-Orthodox Haredi political party in Netanyahu's coalition government, and Rabbi David Landau, leader of the non-Hasidic Ashkenazi community in Israel, have called on followers to not show up to the draft office.

Haaretz added that the army expects around 30 percent turnout at the base, although military personnel said turnout could be higher or lower.

According to The Times of Israel, police announced that three had been arrested at the rally, which has been declared as illegal.

It also reported that scuffles had erupted between the protesters  - who are attempting to disrupt the initial process of registering draftees - and police.

In July 2023, a law that saw the exemption of military service to Yeshiva students expired and the government was granted a deadline of 1 April to come up with a new law. This has also expired.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox have protested military service for decades and in 1998 a Supreme Court ruling allowed such an exemption to be enacted.

The military has previously stated it is ready to conscript 3,000 ultra-Orthodox into the military until the end of 2024.

Haaretz reported that posters in ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods warned that if the community does not protest the current draft, the whole community would face conscription. 

"There has never been a terrible holocaust of young ultra-Orthodox men like this," anti-draft posters read.