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The Israeli military will begin selecting candidates from Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community next week, the military said on Tuesday.
The issue is particularly sensitive at a time when Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and fighting on other fronts has resulted in the heaviest casualties in decades.
Israelis are required by law to serve in the military for 24 to 32 months starting at age 18. Israel’s 21 percent Arab minority and ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students have been mostly exempt from military service for decades.
In June, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the Defense Ministry must end long-standing immunity for ultra-Orthodox seminary students, putting new political pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it would begin “issuing the first initial call-ups for conscription” starting Sunday in preparation for the upcoming July conscription cycle.
On Tuesday, ultra-Orthodox protesters clashed with police in small groups, with dozens blocking a main Israeli highway, but were quickly dispersed.
Netanyahu, whose governing coalition includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, sees the exemptions as key to keeping voters in religious seminaries and away from the melting pot military that could test their conservative values.
The issue has sparked protests among ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up 13 percent of Israel’s 10 million people and are expected to reach 19 percent by 2035. Their refusal to participate in wars they usually support is a long-standing divide in Israeli society.
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