‘Share the burden’: Israeli military wives, mothers protest ultra-Orthodox exemptions - Video
For over a month, wives and mothers of Israeli soldiers, weary from 14 months of war, have gathered each Saturday evening to demand an end to conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.
The bridge between Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv, and Givat Shmuel, a stronghold of religious Zionists whose husbands and sons proudly serve in the army, has become a centre of protest.
Demonstrators, led by the "Partners for Bearing the Burden" collective, wave Israeli flags and call through megaphones for “conscription for all.”
Michal Vilian, a 60-year-old resident of Givat Shmuel, has been attending the weekly demonstrations.
"We have been standing here for a month and a half, asking for help from our brothers who live here [in the ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood] to come and lend a hand, a shoulder, share the burden," she told AFP.
Her four sons and son-in-law, called up as reservists, have been deployed to Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria without significant leave since the war began.
Military service is mandatory in Israel, but exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men who dedicate themselves to religious studies have long been a source of contention. This policy, established when the ultra-Orthodox population was much smaller, has become increasingly divisive as the community now comprises 14% of Israel's Jewish population—about 1.3 million people, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.
The military estimates that around 66,000 ultra-Orthodox men of conscription age are currently exempt. This comes as the Israeli military faces heightened demand for manpower due to the war in Gaza and related conflicts.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox men into military service. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, which includes ultra-Orthodox parties, has resisted changes to the law. Proposed legislation aims to protect exemptions, threatening to deepen societal rifts.
Protester Nurit Shechter, 47, whose husband has been away for about a year, shared the personal toll of the ongoing conflict.
"My husband has been on reserve duty for almost an entire year. The burden on our family is very, very heavy. And we see that there is an entire segment of society [the ultra-Orthodox] who are not taking part and not enlisting in reserve duty," she said.
