Israel to End Draft Exemptions for Ultra-Orthodox

Israel to End Draft Exemptions for Ultra-Orthodox

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In an step that could intensify a major rift among Israelis, the defense minister ordered the army to prepare for a universal draft of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Many in the insular and rapidly growing community say they would rather go to jail than comply with an end to the decades-long draft exemptions that have caused increasing outrage in the country.

Ehud Barak gave defense officials a month to craft a plan to put the new draft procedure into practice, trying to buy time in a last-ditch effort to find an agreed solution. His order came just hours before the expiration of a law that has granted tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews exemptions from military duty and followed a Supreme Court ruling against extending that arrangement.