TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / July 1, 2024
The Israeli army has recently recognized a crisis among the command ranks, with a notable trend of officers in the ranks of captain and major leaving their posts.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Monday that the Israeli army urgently needs 10,000 additional soldiers amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
“The army needs 10,000 more soldiers immediately,” Gallant stated, according to Army Radio, during a session of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
He mentioned that the army could recruit 4,800 soldiers from ultra-Orthodox males.
This follows last week’s unanimous ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court that ultra-Orthodox Jews must be subject to the military draft, ending decades of their exemption from service.
Supreme court mandate
In a landmark decision that could significantly impact Israel’s political scene, the country’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that ultra-Orthodox Jews must be included in the military draft.
All nine judges of the court concurred that there is no legal basis for the government to exempt Haredi Yeshiva students from military service, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
Additionally, the court ruled that the government can no longer provide financial support to Yeshiva student schools without a military service exemption.
Since 2017, successive Israeli governments have struggled to reach a consensus on Haredi conscription after the Supreme Court invalidated a 2015 law that exempted them from military service, citing a violation of the “principle of equality.”
The Times of Israel reports that an estimated 67,000 Haredi males are eligible for military service.
Religious parties, which are key allies of embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, oppose the conscription of Haredi Jews.
In contrast, secular and nationalist parties support it and demand that religious students share the “burden of war,” creating a significant challenge for Netanyahu’s coalition.
Haredi Jews, who comprise about 13 percent of Israel’s population of approximately 9.7 million, traditionally do not serve in the military, citing their commitment to studying the Torah, Judaism’s holy book.
Netanyahu is facing considerable political pressure due to public discontent over Israel’s eight-month offensive in Gaza and his ongoing political scandals.
Army crisis
Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the army has recently recognized a crisis among the command ranks, with a notable trend of officers in the ranks of captain and major leaving their posts.
Since the war began last year, approximately 900 officers have requested to review the release of their contracts.
This crisis has several contributing factors, with the events of October 7 being a notable one. Officers have reported feeling underappreciated and delegitimized by the public and some politicians.
