Conscription ordered to include all Israelis

Israel’s military has been instructed to start conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men just like other Israelis – but it could take a while to implement.

Defence minister Ehud Barak yesterday issued the decree, but appeared to be buying time by giving officials a month to craft a plan to put it into place.

Some ultra-Orthodox activists vowed immediately after the decision that members of their community would go to jail rather than cut short their religious studies to serve, while others sounded sceptical that Mr Barak would enforce the law.

Defence officials admit privately that the Israeli military is not prepared to immediately absorb tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men.

Mr Barak’s decree fills a legal vacuum on the status of the draft. The existing law exempting ultra-Orthodox men from serving was due to expire at midnight last night.

Israel’s Supreme Court had overturned that legislation in February, but it remained in effect as the government struggled to come up with a new formula on an issue that has generated tremendous resentment among Israel’s secular majority and modern Orthodox who do serve the compulsory three years.

But prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to bridge the differences between his secular and ultra-religious coalition partners.

The political impasse came close to bringing down Mr Netanyahu’s government three months ago. Earlier this month, the issue cost him his largest coalition partner, the Kadima party. Now parliament has gone into recess until mid-October, putting efforts to formulate a new conscription law in limbo.

Shmuel Poppenheim, an ultra-Orthodox activist, said: “If there is no flexibility on [Barak’s] side, religious elders will sit together and declare war.”