07.01.2026 10:57
Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrated in West Jerusalem against mandatory conscription in the Israeli army. Rabbi Moshe Tzedaka called for participation in the protest against mandatory military service in a video he released yesterday, stating that joining the protest is "a great duty and obligation."
Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) protested against mandatory conscription in West Jerusalem. Following a call from some rabbis, including Rabbi Moshe Tzedaka of the Torah School (Yeshiva), one of the leading voices against mandatory military service in Sephardic circles, thousands of Haredi demonstrators gathered in the Bar-Ilan Street area of Jerusalem. During the protest, the demonstrators chanted slogans against mandatory military service.
In a video released yesterday, Rabbi Tzedaka called for participation in the protest against mandatory conscription. Stating that participating in the protest is a "great duty and obligation," Tzedaka expressed hope that the demonstration would contribute to the cancellation of the mandatory military service decision.
THE DEBATE ON MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE AMONG ISRAELI POLITICIANS
Yitzhak Goldknopf, the leader of United Torah Judaism who resigned from the government, advocated for the lifting of sanctions against Yeshiva students who do not join the army despite receiving conscription orders, while fellow party member Moshe Gafni threatened that they would not approve the budget in March if the law exempting Yeshiva students from military service is not completed. The same threat also came from another Haredi party, Shas.
Israeli media assessed that the failure to approve the budget in the vote scheduled for March would mean early elections in Israel. Meanwhile, it was reported that a discussion arose in the cabinet meeting led by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu regarding the mandatory military service law.
Despite the Israeli Supreme Court's decision that an effective policy should be established regarding Yeshiva students who received conscription orders, it was noted that the government has not taken any steps in this direction. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized Goldknopf's stance in a post made on the social media platform X, based in the U.S., after the cabinet meeting.
THE DEBATE ON THE CONSCRIPTION OF HAREDIM
According to Israeli law, everyone over the age of 18 is required to perform mandatory military service, while the exemption of Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) from military service has been debated in the country for years. The Israeli Supreme Court had ruled on June 25, 2024, that there is no legal basis for exempting Haredi men from mandatory military service and that those fit for military service should be drafted.
It was reported that the government sent conscription orders to about 24,000 of the approximately 80,000 Haredi men eligible for conscription, and that by July 2025, it would send orders to the remaining group defined as the "pool" for the 2025-2026 military year.
Due to the failure to pass a law that would exempt Haredim from military service, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the Haredi coalition partners had resigned from the government and had begun to boycott parliamentary sessions.