Religious Israelis have long held a privileged position in that society.
Their religious schools, or seminaries, receive generous government subsidies. However, Haredi youth, as they are known in Hebrew, are practically exempt from mandatory military service.
This exemption has confounded Israeli society since its founding. But the legal deadline for a fairer social compact, at least in the eyes of the Supreme Court, now looms at the end of March.
Powerful members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have made clear they will not help him drag things down the road without broad political support.
“This is the single issue that has the greatest potential to topple the coalition,” Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, told CNN.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews view religious study as essential to maintaining Judaism. For many of those who live in Israel, this means that education is as important as the army to Israel’s defense.
In the days of nascent Israel, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion agreed with the Haredi rabbis to exempt 400 men studying in yeshivas from military service. In 1948, there were few Haredim in Israel – many of whom were and still are opposed to the state on religious grounds – and the exemption had little practical effect.
In 1998, Israel’s Supreme Court overturned the long-standing exemption, telling the government that allowing Haredim out of compulsory conscription violated equal protection principles. In the decades that followed, successive governments and the Knesset attempted to resolve the issue, but were repeatedly told by the court that their efforts were illegal.
Read more about the conflict in Israel over forced conscription
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