Since the founding of the Israeli state in 1948, “Haredi” (or “ultra-Orthodox”) men have been exempted from military service to study Torah instead.

Haredi students and their families would be subsidized by the state. At Israel’s founding, Haredim made up less that 3 percent of the population. The military exemption was for just 400 exceptional students. In light of the devastation of centers of Jewish learning during the Holocaust, this was not an unreasonable proposition.

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, a decision that threatened to split Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government amid the war in Gaza.

In a unanimous decision, a panel of nine judges held that there was no legal basis for the longstanding military exemption given to ultra-Orthodox religious students. Without a law distinguishing between seminarians and other men of draft age, the court ruled, the country’s mandatory draft laws must similarly apply to the ultra-Orthodox minority.

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war in Gaza.

The United States military has not activated a draft in more than 50 years, but Congress is weighing proposals to update mandatory conscription, including by expanding it to women for the first time and automatically registering those eligible to be called up.

Senate Democrats have added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives and complicating the chances of moving the bill on the Senate floor before Election Day.

Conservatives led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are certain to attempt to remove the provision requiring women to register for the draft, which could present a tough vote for Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and other Democrats in tight reelection races.

Former Vice President Mike Pence's organization is urging Republican congressional leaders to prevent a provision from moving forward in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require women to sign up for a potential military draft. 

"The notion of the United States of America requiring women to register to fight our wars is simply untenable and must be opposed at all costs," Advancing American Freedom (AAF) Executive Director Paul Teller wrote in a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday.