Gantz threatens to quit Israel gov’t if ultra-Orthodox Jews remain exempt from army

Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz yesterday threatened to quit if the current version of the conscription bill, which exempts ultra-Orthodox Jews from army service, is passed, Anadolu agency reported.

The conscription bill is scheduled to be presented to the Knesset for approval in its current form this week.

“We will not be able to be members of the government if the conscription law is passed in its current form,” Gantz said in a video broadcast by KAN.

He added: “Neither I nor my partners will be able to be members of the emergency government if the Knesset approves this legislation and includes it in the laws of the State of Israel.”

“This law, if passed, would harm the unity and security of the state in general, and especially in times of war.”

Gantz joined the emergency government days after the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, although he was not part of the right-wing government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid yesterday attacked the draft conscription law considering it a reflection of “the most terrible government in the country’s history.”

The issue of recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews who evade military service under the pretext of devoting themselves to studying the Torah has always been a thorny issue in Israeli society.

Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef threatened earlier this month that ultra-Orthodox Jews will leave the country if they are forced to serve in the army.

Under current Israeli law, Jews educated at yeshivas (religious schools) are exempt from military service.

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