Israel top court scraps pious Jews' draft exemption
(Reuters) - Israel's top court struck down on Tuesday a law designed to encourage ultra-Orthodox Jews to join the military and the workforce, saying it had backfired by "entrenching" their blanket draft exemptions and protracted seminary studies.
The ruling was welcomed by Israel's secular majority but could set off rifts in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, which includes powerful religious Jewish parties.
The 2002 "Service Deferral Law" offered the ultra-Orthodox, who make up 10 percent of the population and are often welfare dependant, a choice, upon reaching draft-age, between studying in seminaries or working. The latter option entailed first enlisting in the military, with the possibility of serving in technology units where soldiers can learn a trade.
But by a vote of 6-to-3, the Supreme Court declared that the law, which was subject to review, was unconstitutional and ordered it not be renewed after it Expires in August.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/22/uk-israel-military-religious-idUKTRE81L0AG20120222
