Gaza war strategy to ‘crush' Israeli soldiers as ultra-Orthodox Jews exempted: Reservist

An Israeli reserve soldier warned Saturday that the government's war strategy in Gaza will “crush” army soldiers amid the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.

The Benjamin Netanyahu's government is “helpless and weak before the ultra-Orthodox rabbis and politicians in Israel,” soldier Dan Oron said in statements carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

He said the vast majority of ultra-Orthodox youth are exempted from military service, which “increases the burden on the secular soldiers.”

“Netanyahu's government sends us to fight and exempts tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox,” said Oron.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredi who account for roughly 13% of Israel's 10 million population, have continued to protest conscription following a Supreme Court ruling in June 2024 that mandated their enlistment and halting funding for yeshivas (religious schools) whose students refuse service.

Haredi argue that Torah study is their primary duty and that integration into secular society threatens their religious identity.

For decades, Haredi men have evaded conscription at age 18 through repeated deferrals tied to yeshiva enrollment until reaching the exemption age of 26.

Senior rabbis, whose words are regarded as religious rulings for the ultra-Orthodox, have called for rejecting conscription and even “tearing up” military summons orders.

The soldier's criticism comes amid increasing attacks by Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza as the army continued its genocidal war that has killed nearly 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.