Israeli military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men, says army

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox men for military service from Sunday, the Israeli armed forces said on Tuesday.

The army did not specify the number of individuals it would contact to participate in the selection process for the upcoming recruitment.

Ultra-Orthodox men had been largely exempted from otherwise mandatory military service in Israel for decades. But a recent decision by Israel's highest court ordered the government to include them in conscription.

The court decision ending military service exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox was seen as a major setback for the far-right religious coalition backing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Exemptions for Ultra-Orthodox men expired three months ago, and Netanyahu's government failed to pass a law that would have cemented those exemptions in law.

Given the months-long war against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the army had recently warned of a drastic shortage of combat-ready soldiers.

In addition, many Israelis feel it is unfair that ultra-Orthodox Jews have so far not been required to serve in the armed forces and have been exempt from dangerous combat missions.

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews see military service as a threat to their religious lifestyle, in part because men and women serve side by side in the Israeli armed forces.