#Israel / High Court is hearing petitions challenging the military exemption for ultra-Orthodox #yeshiva students
This is a contentious issue that has sparked mass protests outside the court in Jerusalem. The "Movement for Quality Government", joined by "Brothers and Sisters in Arms" and 240 citizens, petitioned the court, arguing that Defense Minister Yoav #Gallant is illegally exempting tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox youths from military service, defying the law and court rulings. Last week, the state told the High Court of Justice that unless a military draft bill is advanced by April 1, ultra-Orthodox men will be conscripted to the army.
A reminder of the potential consequences of integrating settlers and ultra-Orthodox into the #IDF/#IOF:
[...] The Netzah Yehuda battalion was originally set up to allow ultra-Orthodox Israelis to serve in the military. But over the years, the unit has attracted not only some of the most religious soldiers, but also a growing number of far-right extremists, including many settlers. Unlike other units, enlistment in Netzah Yehuda is voluntary; until recently, it was deployed exclusively in the West Bank, where its members were in daily contact with Palestinians living under occupation. As such, the unit — whose name is an acronym for “Haredi Military Youth” — was known for getting “a lot of action,” the former member said.
[...] The harassment and dehumanization of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation are a daily affair, and Netzah Yehuda soldiers are hardly the only culprits. But on some occasions, the unit’s actions in the West Bank escalated into gross human rights violations and potential war crimes. Since 2015, members of the unit have killed several Palestinians and beaten and tortured others with electric shocks, according to documentation submitted by DAWN to the ICC, which in 2021 opened an investigation into alleged crimes committed in the occupied territories.
"Nazaruk found press reports, dated after #Lublin’s liberation by the #Russian army in 1944, that indicated the #library had survived. Then, one slow afternoon at work, he was scrolling through the digital archive of the #Jewish Historical Institute in #Warsaw and came across a treasure trove: 130 books with Lublin #Yeshiva stamps.
That discovery began a quest to reunite the books that once belonged to the Jewish library, estimated to hold between 15,000 and 40,000 volumes at the dawn of World War II. Nazaruk now feels sure that most of the historic collection was not burned, but instead scattered across the globe."
First opened for #JewishUkrainian#refugees following Russia’s invasion last year, it's now housing around 250 #Jewish ppl including some 100 children, most of whom arrived from #Israel since #Hamas Oct. 7 attack.
The camp is equipped w/ detached #HousingUnits & central building where 3 #KosherMeals are served per day. The residents are provided with shelter & camaraderie & can also engage in activities like sports & dancing & may attend #yeshiva for religious studies.
They'll whine about "religious freedom". #ReligiousFreedom is not implicated here: teach whatever you want, as long as you also teach math, science, #history. (If anything, forbearance would offend religious freedom by privileging religion over all other compelling state interests, a violation of the #EstablishmentClause.)
They'll whine that those subjects are adequately addressed in their #Jewish studies. Nonsense. Kids graduating these "#schools" have been shown to be severely deficient in English and other subjects.
The schools and their supporters are lying; and what's more: they know it.