What is Israel's Haredi draft bill and could it force a Netanyahu government collapse?

The Israeli High Court this week determined that ultra-Orthodox men  must serve in the military, which has sent shockwaves through the country highlighting the deep schism between religious and secular Jews in the country.

The Supreme Court ruling means that the government must call up Haredi Jews for conscription, having for decades avoided national service due to their status as religious students.

Secular left and right-wing parties have for years demanded that Israel's ultra-Orthodox bear some of the burdens of operating a huge and costly military and if religious students were forced to enlist then this would likely lead to huge political turmoil in Israel.

Who are the Haredi?

The Haredi are a highly conservative Jewish group who form around 12 percent of the Israeli population and are generally separate from mainstream secular Israeli society. Most lead lives according to laws of the Torah with their own schools, newspapers, and segregated neighbourhoods and many are students at Yeshivas, or Jewish seminaries, devoting themselves to religious study.

This status sees them exempt from conscription, something that grates secular Israelis who must serve in the military.

Critics say that in reality many of young Haredi have dropped out of their studies and are not active students, living off the state or their families. Ultra-Orthodox educational facilities are also given state support with many Israelis viewing this as an unnecessary burden to the tax payer.

There has been growing pressure for more, if not all, ultra-Orthodox to enlist in the military with many secular political parties from the left and right demanding changes to the law.

Do any Haredi serve in the Israeli military?

Some young Haredi do serve in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, an army unit specifically for ultra-Orthodox soldiers, however this is just a fraction of the overall Israeli military.

The Netzah Yehuda Battalion in general operates separately to other army units, catering to the specific dietary and religious requirements of the ultra-Orthodox conscripts, such as no women bar family members being allowed on the bases.

It is a highly-controversial unit that has been linked to many abuses against Palestinians, with extremist settlers from the Hill Top Youth among those serving.

What is the Haredi draft bill and why did the Supreme Court's decision matter?

Israeli parties have attempted to force the government to take action against the ultra-Orthodox community's evasion of military service, particularly after the war on Gaza began which saw thousands of reservists called up for duty.

The problem is that Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government includes many ultra-Orthodox parties, including Shas, who include these students and rabbis among their supporters and vehemently oppose the forced conscription of young Haredi.

Activist group Movement for Quality Government in Israel had petitioned the High Court to order the government to begin the enlistment of Haredi Jews, which judges unanimously backed, saying that the government must begin the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox students and that their exemption from conscription was no longer valid. 

What happens next?

Israel's attorney general has already ordered the preliminary enlistment of 3,000 Yeshiva students, saying this number could increase in the future.

The ultra-Orthodox have reacted with fury to the developments with one Haredi newspaper describing it as a 'declaration of war' against their community.

Israeli analysts doubt the military will begin press ganging students, who appear determined not to serve and have even threatened to leave Israel if forced to enlist.

The issue does add pressure on Netanyahu's Likud Party, which although secular requires the support of ultra-Orthodox parties such as Shas and United Torah Judaism to stay in power. Now Netanyahu's government is legally required to begin the process of conscripting Haredi students.

Yet this historic announcement is just one chapter in a long-standing battle between secular and religious Jews about the conscription issue, which has so far come to nothing.

Some analysts believe the young Haredi understand times have changed and that more ultra-Orthodox will have to sign up to the military, while the older rabbis could be convinced, maybe via financial incentives, to acquiesce to the court's demands.

If there is no movement on this issue, then tensions between religious and secular Jews will undoubtedly intensify.