Israel ultra-Orthodox vow to push back after students' arrest
"The authorities will face a united global ultra-Orthodox Judaism fighting for its soul," the spiritual leader of ultra-Orthodox Jews of European descent, Rabbi Dov Landau, told the community's leading newspaper Yated Neeman under the front-page headline "War."
The exemption of many ultra-Orthodox men from the military service performed by other Jews has long been a contentious issue in Israel but it has become more so as the Gaza war has dragged on, putting a strain on army reservists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has depended on the support of two ultra-Orthodox parties for its majority in the Knesset.
But its failure to pass new legislation to give full-time seminary students continued exemption from military service has tested that support.
Both ultra-Orthodox parties have withdrawn their ministers from the government, while one has also stopped supporting it in the Knesset.
The ultra-Orthodox community represents 14 percent of Israel's Jewish population, about 1.3 million people, and around 66,000 men of military age previously benefited each year from exemptions.
The Israeli army announced in early July that tens of thousands of conscription orders would be sent out to ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Earlier this week, authorities arrested two brothers, both full-time seminary students, after they failed to heed their call-up papers.
In Jerusalem on Thursday evening, ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators gathered to protest the arrests, with police later using a water cannon to disperse the crowd.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LBCI
an hour ago
- LBCI
Post-war reality: Hezbollah's capabilities between Israeli narratives and ground facts
Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared on October 27, 2024—one month before the end of the 66-day war—that Hezbollah was no longer an effective force for Iran, claiming its senior leadership had been wiped out along with most of its missile capabilities. When the war ended, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a similar tone, suggesting Hezbollah had been crushed militarily. While few dispute the heavy blows the group sustained, the strikes did not stop with the war's conclusion. Over the following nine months, Israel carried out more than 500 air raids, killing over 240 people and destroying infrastructure. Yet Israeli media headlines painted a more complex picture. The newspaper Maariv ran the headline: "Northern settlements at risk again: Radwan Forces plan to invade Israel." This came alongside articles acknowledging that Hezbollah still retained some military capabilities. Maariv reported that the group was rebuilding its elite Radwan unit, changing tactics, and preparing for possible operations in the Mount Hermon area, described as part of a swift Iranian move to shape the post-war narrative. The paper quoted the Israeli army as saying it had killed around 5,000 commanders out of the 9,000 who were in Lebanon before the war, and that Radwan's ranks had been reduced from about 6,000 fighters to between 2,500 and 3,000. How could a group whose leadership was decimated, whose missile arsenal was largely destroyed, and whose elite force lost more than half its fighters, by Israel's own account, still be in a position to launch an incursion? Analysts point to two possible explanations. One is Israel's consistent promotion of a narrative that it remains under threat, justifying ongoing operations in Lebanon. The other is that Hezbollah is indeed restoring parts of its military strength, something the group itself does not deny. Whether, after such rebuilding, it could still inflict significant damage on Israel, and how much of its recovery Israel can disrupt, are questions only both sides can answer. If the answers emerge, they will likely come through force of arms.
MTV Lebanon
6 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Russia has won war in Ukraine, Hungary's Orban says
Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. In power since 2010, Orban has been criticized by some European leaders for his government's ties with Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine, while his cabinet is struggling to revive the economy from an inflation shock. Orban, who has maintained close ties with Putin even after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, became the only European Union leader on Monday not to endorse a joint statement saying Ukraine should have the freedom to decide its future. 'We are talking now as if this were an open-ended war situation, but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war,' Orban told the 'Patriot' YouTube channel in an interview. 'The only question is when and under what circumstances will the West, who are behind the Ukrainians, admit that this has happened and what will result from all this.' Hungary, which gets most of its energy from Russia, has refused to send weapons to Ukraine, with Orban also strongly opposing Ukraine's EU membership, saying it would wreak havoc on Hungarian farmers and the wider economy. Orban said Europe had missed an opportunity to negotiate with Putin under former US president Joe Biden's administration and now was at risk of its future being decided without its involvement. 'If you are not at the negotiating table, you are on the menu,' Orban said, adding that he partly opposed the EU's joint statement on Ukraine as it made Europe look 'ridiculous and pathetic.' 'When two leaders sit down to negotiate with each other, the Americans and the Russians ... and you're not invited there, you don't rush for the phone, you don't run around, you don't shout in from the outside.'
L'Orient-Le Jour
12 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo as Netanyahu says partial truce not an option
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya and his delegation arrived in Cairo Tuesday evening, Egypt's state-affiliated al-Qahera News channel reported, while from Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu told local media that a partial cease-fire deal would not be on the table. The Palestinian negotiators will begin holding talks with Egyptian mediators on the framework, which Qatari and Egyptian officials have been drafting this past week. The renewed push for a cease-fire comes as Israel prepares for its phased occupation of Gaza amid global outcry. The Israeli plan is expected to take some time to launch, leaving room for a potential cease-fire, which White House envoy Steve Witkoff continues to push for, having just met with the Qatari prime minister over the weekend to deliver Trump's message urging an "all or nothing" truce that ends the war for good. Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that Cairo, working in coordination with Qatar and the U.S., is seeking a 'comprehensive agreement,' a sentiment apparently echoed by Netanyahu, who said he thinks the possibility of a partial cease-fire deal with Hamas 'is behind us,' Times of Israel reported, citing comments during an interview with the i24 television channel. 'You heard President Trump,' Netanyahu said when asked if the possibility of forging a partial cease-fire and hostage release deal is still open. 'I think it's behind us.' 'We've made all kinds of attempts,' he says, without elaborating. 'We went a long way. It became clear to us that they're just leading us astray.' Previous rounds of negotiations stuck on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, which Israel now plans to completely occupy. Domestically, Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from his government and the public to end the war. 'In any case, a lot of hostages, both living and dead, will remain in their hands,' he says, appearing to refer to a past proposal for a partial deal, which would have secured the release of 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 more. 'I want everyone — both the living and the fallen,' he said.
