Israel's Supreme Court rules that ultra-Orthodox Jews must be drafted into the army
Israel's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the military must begin conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, a decision that threatens to split Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government amid the war in Gaza.In a unanimous decision, nine justices found that there was no legal basis for the long-standing military exemption granted to many ultra-Orthodox religious students. Given the absence of a law distinguishing between seminarians and other men of military age, the court ruled that the country's compulsory service laws must apply equally to the ultra-Orthodox minority.In a country where military service is mandatory for most Jewish men and women, exemption for the ultra-Orthodox has long been a point of contention for secular Israelis. But anger over the group...