Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government

Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government
Under longstanding arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from the draft (AFP/FILE)
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Updated 25 June 2024
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Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government

Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government
  • Under longstanding arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from the draft
  • These exemptions have long been a source of anger among the secular public

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza.
The historic ruling effectively puts an end to a decades-old system that granted ultra-Orthodox men broad exemptions from military service while maintaining mandatory enlistment for the country’s secular Jewish majority. The arrangement, deemed discriminatory by critics, has created a deep chasm in Israel’s Jewish majority over who should shoulder the burden of protecting the country.
The court struck down a law that codified exemptions in 2017, but repeated court extensions and government delaying tactics over a replacement dragged out a resolution for years. The court ruled that in the absence of a law, Israel’s compulsory military service applies to the ultra-Orthodox like any other citizen.
Under longstanding arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men and women.
These exemptions have long been a source of anger among the secular public, a divide that has widened during the eight-month-old war, as the military has called up tens of thousands of soldiers and says it needs all the manpower it can get. Over 600 soldiers have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties, key partners in Netanyahu’s governing coalition, oppose any change in the current system. If the exemptions are ended, they could bolt the coalition, causing the government to collapse and likely leading to new elections at a time when its popularity has dropped.
In the current environment, Netanyahu could have a hard time delaying the matter any further or passing laws to restore the exemptions. During arguments, government lawyers told the court that forcing ultra-Orthodox men to enlist would “tear Israeli society apart.” There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
The court decision comes at a sensitive time, as the war in Gaza drags on into its ninth month and the number of dead soldiers continues to mount.
In its ruling, the court found that the state was carrying out “invalid selective enforcement, which represents a serious violation of the rule of law, and the principle according to which all individuals are equal before the law.”
It did not say how many ultra-Orthodox should be drafted, but the military has said it is capable of enlisting 3,000 this year.
Some 66,000 ultra-Orthodox men are now eligible for enlistment, according to Shuki Friedman, an expert on religion and state affairs and the vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.
The ruling of Israel’s highest court must be followed, and the military is expected to begin doing so once it forms a plan for how to draft thousands of members of a population that’s deeply opposed to service, and which follows a cloistered and modest lifestyle the military may not be immediately prepared to accommodate. The army had no immediate comment.
The court also ruled that state subsidies for seminaries where exempted ultra-Orthodox men study should remain suspended. The court temporarily froze the seminary budgets earlier this year.
In a post on the social media platform X, Cabinet minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, who heads one of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, called the ruling “very unfortunate and disappointing.” He did not say whether his party would bolt the government.
“The state of Israel was established in order to be a home for the Jewish people whose Torah is the bedrock of its existence. The holy Torah will prevail,” he wrote.
The ultra-Orthodox see their full-time religious study as their part in protecting the state. Many fear that greater contact with secular society through the military will distance adherents from strict observance of the faith.
Ultra-Orthodox men attend special seminaries that focus on religious studies, with little attention on secular topics like math, English or science. Critics have said they are ill-prepared to serve in the military or enter the secular work force.
Religious women generally receive exemptions that are not as controversial, in part because women are not expected to serve in combat units. The ruling does not address the status of Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who are not required to serve and most of whom do not. As descendants of Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 war that led to its creation, their ties to the military are more fraught and some in Israel see them as a fifth column because of their solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Tuesday’s ruling now sets the stage for growing friction within the coalition over the draft issue. Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers are likely to face intense pressure from religious leaders and their constituents and may have to choose whether remaining in the government is worthwhile for them. Previous court rulings on the issue and threats of enlistment have sparked protests and violence between ultra-Orthodox and police.
Friedman said the ultra-Orthodox “understand that they don’t have a better political alternative, but at same time their public is saying ‘why did we vote for you?’”
The exemptions have faced years of legal challenges and a string of court decisions has found the system unjust. But Israeli leaders, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, have repeatedly stalled.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which has helped lead the challenge against the exemptions, called on the government to immediately draft all eligible seminary students. “This is their legal and moral duty, especially in light of the complex security situation and the urgent need for personnel” in the army, said Tomer Naor, head of the group’s legal department.
Netanyahu’s coalition is buoyed by two ultra-Orthodox parties who oppose increasing enlistment for their constituents. The long-serving Israeli leader has tried to adhere to the court’s rulings while also scrambling to preserve his coalition. But with a slim majority of 64 seats in the 120-member parliament, he’s often beholden to the pet issues of smaller parties.
The government could in theory try to draft a law that restores the exemptions, but doing so will be politically challenging in light of the court’s ruling.
Some moderate members of the government have indicated they will only support a law that enlists sizable numbers of ultra-Orthodox, and the legislative clock is running out with the Knesset soon to leave for summer recess. That could force the military to begin drafting religious men before any new law is in place.
Netanyahu has been promoting a bill tabled by a previous government in 2022 that sought to address the issue by calling for limited ultra-Orthodox enlistment.
But critics say that bill was crafted before the war and doesn’t do enough to address a pressing manpower shortfall as the army seeks to maintain its forces in the Gaza Strip while also preparing for potential war with the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which has been fighting with Israel since the war in Gaza erupted last October.
With its high birthrate, the ultra-Orthodox community is the fastest-growing segment of the population, at about 4 percent annually. Each year, roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox males reach the conscription age of 18, but less than 10 percent enlist, according to the Israeli parliament’s State Control Committee.


Shelling kills 12 in Sudan’s Darfur: activists

Shelling kills 12 in Sudan’s Darfur: activists
Updated 03 November 2024
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Shelling kills 12 in Sudan’s Darfur: activists

Shelling kills 12 in Sudan’s Darfur: activists
  • UN officials have voiced mounting concern about the dire conditions in Darfur and across Sudan

PORT SUDAN, Sudan: Shelling by Sudanese paramilitary forces on Saturday killed at least 12 people in the north of the vast Darfur region that is almost completely under their control, activists said.
Five people were also wounded in the bombardment by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the regular army since April last year, according to the local resistance committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across the country.
RSF fighters took three people captive after the bombardment north of the town of Kutum, the committee added.
The region’s governor, former rebel leader Mini Minawi, who is close to the regular army, said the paramilitaries had torched some 20 villages in the area.
The army has largely been confined to the North Darfur state capital of El-Fasher since the paramilitaries swept through the rest of the region last year.
RSF fighters have laid siege to the city of some two million people since May and famine has already been declared in the Zamzam camp for the displaced to its south.
UN officials have voiced mounting concern about the dire conditions in Darfur and across Sudan.
“The people of Sudan are living through a nightmare of violence — with thousands of civilians killed, and countless others facing unspeakable atrocities, including widespread rape and sexual assaults,” UN chief Antonio Guterres told the Security Council late last month.


War decimates harvest in famine-threatened Sudan

War decimates harvest in famine-threatened Sudan
Updated 03 November 2024
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War decimates harvest in famine-threatened Sudan

War decimates harvest in famine-threatened Sudan
  • Hundreds of farmers have been driven off their once-fertile lands and those who have managed to remain face tremendous hardships
  • Warring sides accused of using “starvation tactics” against 25 million civilians and aid groups warned that families are resorting to eating leaves and insects

GEDAREF, Sudan: Ahmed Othman’s farm has been spared from the deadly fighting that has spread across Sudan, but the war’s toll on the economy and labor market has still reached him.
“I had to sell two vehicles” to afford to harvest this season’s crops, he told AFP from his large sesame farm in eastern Sudan’s Gedaref state.
A year and a half of war in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and devastated harvests.
Last month, United Nations experts accused the warring sides of using “starvation tactics” against 25 million civilians, and three major aid organizations warned of a “historic” hunger crisis as families resort to eating leaves and insects.
Hundreds of farmers have been driven off their once-fertile lands and those who have managed to remain face tremendous hardships.
Gedaref state is key to Sudan’s corn production, a crucial crop for a population the World Food Programme warns is nearing famine — a condition already declared at a displacement camp in the country’s western region of Darfur.
“The first challenge we faced was securing funding as banks are experiencing a cash crunch due to the war,” said Othman.
Cash shortages have occurred even in army-controlled Gedaref since the RSF took over the capital Khartoum and banks were ransacked.
The farmer said that without selling two out of his three vehicles he could not have afforded fuel for farm machinery or to pay workers to prepare the fields and tend to the crops.
“The second problem is the scarcity of farm workers due to the war, which has limited their movement across states,” he added.
Most workers in Gedaref previously came from the adjacent states of Blue Nile and Sennar, as well as from Kordofan further away.

However, the war has restricted inter-state movement, leaving farm owners like Othman with only a small workforce.
Another local farmer, Suleiman Mohamed, said “the shortage of workers has driven up wages, so we are relying on those already in the area, mainly Ethiopians” who have long resided in Sudan’s east as refugees.
War began in April 2023 between the army under the country’s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Disruptions to the harvest this season could exacerbate the hunger crisis, made worse by restrictions on aid entry.
European and North American nations issued a joint statement last month that accused the warring sides of “systematic obstruction” of aid efforts. They said both sides should urgently admit the assistance to millions of people in dire need.
In southern Gedaref, another farmer, Othman Abdelkarim, said many have already given up on this year’s season.
“Most of us have relied on ourselves for financing, and some simply opted out and didn’t plant,” he said, pointing to an unplanted field west of his farm.
“This crisis will delay the harvest and affect its quality,” he added.
The state’s agriculture ministry reported that nine million acres (3.6 million hectares) were cultivated in Gedaref this year — five million with corn and the rest with sesame, sunflowers, peanuts and cotton.
That is less than half of the roughly 20 million acres planted annually before the war.
Farmer Suleiman Mohamed fears there is no hope for this season’s crop.
“With fewer workers and delayed harvesting, we’ll face losses, and part of the crop will be lost,” he said from his farm in eastern Gedaref.
 


‘Nobody cares about us’: US election doubts in West Bank

‘Nobody cares about us’: US election doubts in West Bank
Updated 03 November 2024
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‘Nobody cares about us’: US election doubts in West Bank

‘Nobody cares about us’: US election doubts in West Bank
  • There are about 172,000 Palestinian-Americans in the US, according to a 2022 census survey, with many from swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania

TURMUS AYA, West Bank: As Palestinian American entrepreneur Jamal Zaglul stood by his olive press at the end of the harvest season in the occupied West Bank, his mind was far away from this week’s US election.

Like other US passport holders living in Turmus Aya, where they form the majority, he was skeptical that the ballot would bring change to the region.

“Here we have problems. Nobody (in the US) cares about us,” said the businessman in his 50s.

Violence in the West Bank — occupied by Israel since 1967 — has surged since the Gaza war erupted after militants’ unprecedented Oct.7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Zaglul spoke fondly of former US President Bill Clinton, under whose administration the landmark Oslo Accords were signed, creating arrangements between the Palestinians and Israel.

“This time, we need to start changing. We have to have another party, a separate party, independents,” Zaglul said. “The other ones, they’re not helping us.”

Fellow dual national Basim Sabri planned to vote for a third-party candidate in protest after “eight years of miserable administration.”

The Minnesota-based native of the northern West Bank did not mince words about the current White House occupant, sharply criticizing Joe Biden.

He was equally critical of Biden’s predecessor and current Republican contender, Donald Trump, calling him a “racist.”

Sabri said he would vote for Jill Stein, the perennial Green Party candidate on the ballot in nearly every battleground state this presidential cycle.

Stein ran in 2012 and 2016, securing just 0.4 percent and one percent of the vote, respectively.

Deeply shocked by the Gaza war, Sabri hopes the US will push more for peace.

“It’s the only country in the world that’s vetoing the decision of the majority of the world to stop the war and condemn Israel,” he said.

California resident Odeh Juma, who returns to Turmus Aya several times a year, pointed bitterly to US military support for Israel.

“As Palestinians, we feel our concerns — like ending wars globally, in Palestine or Ukraine — are overlooked in favor of the politicians’ electoral interests,” he said.

Juma planned to watch election night coverage but would not cast a ballot.

“If we don’t vote now, it will highlight the importance of the Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim voices for future elections,” he said.

There are about 172,000 Palestinian-Americans in the US, according to a 2022 census survey, with many from swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Thousands of Palestinian Americans live in the West Bank, a community shaken by the killings of an American and two dual citizens this year.

Juma’s son Adam said that “people tend to be scared to vote for anybody, especially for Trump.”

He recalled that during Trump’s first presidential run, some hoped he would be “different,” but he dealt numerous blows to Palestinians once elected.

Trump’s administration notably broke with US precedent by declaring it did not see Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.

These settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Adam Juma has been following the election but will not vote, believing the US no longer influences global conflict resolution.

“It won’t change anything if we vote for anybody ... It’s not like how it used to be,” he said.

Ramallah resident Leila said she voted for Stein.

“The ongoing genocide is at the top of my mind, and Harris has done absolutely nothing to win my vote in that regard,” she said.

Sanaa Shalabi, a Palestinian American, also planned to sit out the election.

“Here, no one cares about us... There is an American embassy here, but it does nothing,” she said.

“They do not stand with us. Israel is the one that controls America.”


‘Stop the war’, say Israelis demanding return of Gaza hostages

‘Stop the war’, say Israelis demanding return of Gaza hostages
Updated 03 November 2024
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‘Stop the war’, say Israelis demanding return of Gaza hostages

‘Stop the war’, say Israelis demanding return of Gaza hostages
  • Some at the rally — organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group — brought up the plight of Israel’s soldiers, who are exhausted more than a year into the Gaza war

TEL AVIV: Hundreds of Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv voiced their frustration with the government on Saturday for failing to secure a truce deal to bring the remaining hostages in Gaza home.
Flag-waving demonstrators in the country’s commercial hub held placards with slogans including “Deal now,” “Stop the war” and “We won’t abandon them,” and beat drums and chanted: “Why are they still in Gaza?“
“There have been countless opportunities to end this crisis and each one was torpedoed by the government,” said demonstrator Zahiro Shahar Mor, a 52-year-old bank employee from Tel Aviv.
“The cycle of violence is escalating week after week and we see no end,” added Mor, whose uncle Avraham Munder was killed in captivity in Gaza, and who is campaigning for the release of others’ loved ones.
Critics have questioned why a truce has still not materialized now that Israel has achieved many of its war aims, including last month’s killing of Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar.
Israeli and US officials as well as some analysts have said Sinwar was an obstacle to reaching a truce deal in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Ifat Kalderon, a prominent anti-government protester afraid for her cousin still held in Gaza, blamed Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.
“Each hostage deal they start to talk about, he sabotages. He always blamed Sinwar, but now there is no Sinwar. But every time he finds another reason,” the 50-year-old stylist told AFP.
“It’s a bloody war, we need to stop it. Enough. So many soldiers are dying. And ordinary citizens,” she said, referring to civilians from both sides of the conflict paying with their lives.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023 after Palestinian militants attacked Israel, resulting in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,314 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry the United Nations considers reliable.
During the October 7 attack, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of them are dead.
Some at the rally — organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group — brought up the plight of Israel’s soldiers, who are exhausted more than a year into the Gaza war.
Others hoped for international intervention, including from the United States, which holds a presidential election on Tuesday.
“I hope whoever wins will be adult enough to take the kids in the Middle East by the ear and force them to the negotiating table,” said protester Mor.
He said he was “disappointed, frustrated and angry” at the lack of a hostage deal but was “keeping the hope for the people who are still alive” in Gaza.
Sinwar’s killing had spurred hope that fresh life could be breathed into months of fruitless negotiations for a truce with hostage and prisoner releases.
The talks have been mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
A Hamas official said Friday the group received a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a short-term truce in Gaza but had rejected it.
He said the group had responded by restating its position that “what the Palestinian people want is a complete, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire.”
Protester Simone Spak Safran said she believed the Israeli government “couldn’t care less” about the hostages.
A few “times an agreement was not reached, and not only because of Hamas. I don’t expect anything from this government,” the 77-year-old from Herzliya told AFP.


Turkiye’s president sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for alleged slander

Turkiye’s president sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for alleged slander
Updated 03 November 2024
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Turkiye’s president sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for alleged slander

Turkiye’s president sues opposition chief, Istanbul mayor for alleged slander
  • The charge has been widely used to silence Erdogan’s political rivals, as well as journalists, human rights defenders, and members of the public

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sued the main opposition leader and Istanbul’s mayor for alleged slander in a forceful legal blow against his political rivals.

The two separate lawsuits targeted Ozgur Ozel, head of the Republican People’s Party or CHP, and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, also a top party official.

The lawsuit reveals that one or both could be prosecuted for insulting the president under Article 299 of the penal code, which carries a maximum four-year prison term.

The charge has been widely used to silence Erdogan’s political rivals, as well as journalists, human rights defenders, and members of the public.

Court documents cited by Anadolou accused Ozel of “publicly insulting the president” and “clearly committing a crime against the reputation and honor of the office of the presidency.”

The second alleged that Imamoglu had made “unfounded accusations, including slander, that violated Erdogan’s rights” and had “acted with the aim of humiliating the president in front of the public.”

Each lawsuit claims 1 million Turkish lira ($30,000) in damages from the accused.

The legal action centers on remarks the pair allegedly made on Thursday at a demonstration in the Istanbul district of Esenyurt after its opposition mayor was arrested for alleged links to the banned Kurdish PKK militant group.

The move against two top opposition figures comes as Turkiye’s strongman is widely believed to be seeking ways to amend the constitution so he can run again in the 2028 presidential race.

It was not immediately clear which remarks prompted the legal action but Ozer, who took over as CHP leader just a year ago, quickly hit back.

Erdogan “pretends to have been insulted without any insult being made, and tries to make himself the victim... as if it was not he who insulted and victimized Esenyurt” by arresting its mayor, he told reporters.

Asked whether he thought the authorities would try and topple Imamoglu as they did with the mayor of Esenyurt, Ozel said it was unclear.

But if they did, the opposition would put up a fight: “We will challenge them,” he vowed.

Imamoglu, elected Istanbul mayor in 2019, is often portrayed as Erdogan’s biggest political rival and is widely expected to run in the 2028 presidential race.

He is seen as one of Turkiye’s most popular politicians.

Two years ago, Imamoglu was sued for defamation after describing Istanbul election officials as “idiots” during the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election.

A court found him guilty of insulting a civil servant and sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in jail, barring him from politics for the duration of the sentence and prompting an international outcry.

Although Imamoglu appealed, the lawsuit meant it was too risky for him to contest the 2023 presidential election.

But he has continued to serve as mayor while the appeal court mulls its decision.

At the time, Erdogan insisted he had nothing to do with the lawsuit.

The 70-year-old Turkish leader launched his political career in the 1990s by being elected mayor of Istanbul.