DUBAI(RAHNUMA): Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at plans to extend mandatory military service as the army grapples with a deepening personnel shortage amid the war in Iran and invasion of Lebanon.
According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Netanyahu said plans were in place to revise conscription laws following the Jewish Passover holiday in response to Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, warning that the army could “collapse” if the personnel crisis is not addressed.
Under current law, Israeli men serve 32 months of mandatory military service, while women serve 24 months, with proposals under discussion to extend the term to 36 months.
Conscription laws have previously exempted Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Haredi Yeshiva students; however, this exemption has come under mass scrutiny as Israel has found itself engaged in an increasing number of wars since October 2023.
In June 2024, the High Court of Justice unanimously ruled that the state must conscript Haredi Yeshiva students and stop funding yeshivas for those who do not serve, prompting mass protests, defections and arrests.
According to Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg, Netanyahu’s attempts to expand military service are likely to reignite the contentious political issue within Israel.
“The issue of mandatory military service or military conscription is seemingly important for the IDFs operational strength, but in reality, that’s not really the case,” Goldberg told Arab News.
“It doesn’t really matter if the IDF has 5,000 more troops or 10,000 more troops, or 12,000 more troops. It’s a political issue. It’s a political issue that is perhaps the only real leverage that any potential opposition to Netanyahu has on him.”
Haredi political parties are a key part of the government coalition. They are demanding a new law to secure a blanket exemption and have boycotted parliamentary votes over the proposed law.
According to Goldberg, Netanyahu’s ability to “rein them in” is one of the most difficult internal political battles facing the government — with opponents keen to capitalize on the fracture.
“There’s going to be real civic upheaval. I mean, they’re going to go into ultra-orthodox neighborhoods and arrest defectors, and they’re going to run into some real opposition,” he said.
“The ultra-orthodox are the closest thing to actual resistance anyone in Jewish Israel will offer the authorities.”
Goldberg said he remained pessimistic that any substantial change would occur, believing the mass conscription of Herdi students to still be a “far-fetched fantasy” commonly deployed as a political distraction by parties looking to differentiate themselves in an otherwise homogeneous landscape.
“This isn’t about the actual soldiers, and it’s not about the actual conscription. It’s about the principle of the matter, and it’s the only issue that allows Netanyahu’s opposition to look like an enlightened secular opposition to fanatics who want nothing more than to turn the whole country into a biblical theocracy,” Goldberg said.
“That’s not the case. I mean, all of this is in many ways is being undertaken to camouflage the fact that the great majority of Jewish Israelis from whatever political side of the spectrum you’d like to examine support what Netanyahu is doing. They support what Israel is doing. They supported the Gaza genocide. They support the ethnic cleansing in the territories.”
