Shas minister: Not all ultra-Orthodox men should be exempt from IDF service

Moshe Arbel, the ultra-Orthodox health and interior minister of Shas, said Monday that Haredi men who do not study Torah should not be exempted from mandatory conscription into the military.

“Particularly as [an ultra-Orthodox man] who served in the army and as someone who served in the reserves until entering the Knesset, and whose brothers served in the army, one of them an officer in the IDF, I want to say clearly – being ultra-Orthodox is not a reason for exemption from military service,” Arbel said in an interview with Channel 12.

Arbel stressed that he supports exempting ultra-Orthodox men who do study Torah, saying “I expect that in a Jewish state [Torah study] will not be a criminal offense. We should respect those who study.”

“However, a person who takes advantage and exploits his deferment and [does not study] and merely because of the black yarmulke on his head tries to evade military service — we all together need to act to draft him into military service that is fitted to his needs,” Arbel added.

Arbel’s comments, which come while the coalition is working to advance a bill that would exempt ultra-Orthodox men from military service, are largely at odds with the views of most other Haredi politicians.

“I haven’t seen the bill yet,” Arbel said. “However, I do want to say — a person who doesn’t study Torah and [is taking advantage of those who do in order to not serve] should not be defended; he should serve in the military like every other citizen.”

According to a recent Channel 12 report, in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Haredi parties – including Arbel’s Shas – demanded that all male members of their community be completely exempt from military and national service, and made clear to the premier that they would not back the advancement of other government bills until the exemptions are enacted into law.

The bill is important to Haredi parties because the Supreme Court has in recent years nixed several initiatives on key issues for Haredi voters, including the exemption from military service enjoyed by yeshiva students under the age of 26.

In 2017, the High Court of Justice invalidated a conscription law that gave sweeping exemptions to full-time religious scholars. A series of extended deadlines by which to legislate a new enlistment law expired at the end of July. In turn, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the IDF in June to not draft ultra-Orthodox men until March 31, 2024. By then, the coalition expects that a bill exempting the ultra-Orthodox will pass.