c. 1998 Religion News Service

JERUSALEM _ You can see them by the hundreds in the study halls of this city’s great yeshivas _ ultra-religious young men in their late teens or early 20s, dressed in black, bent over large books of Talmud, or Jewish law, engaged in animated discussion with a study partner; or just lounging around by the entrance.

They are the ranks of Israel’s tens of thousands of adult yeshiva students who devote years of their adult lives entirely to religious studies _ while most other Jewish Israeli youths spend three years on active army duty and decades in reserve units.

But the draft exemptions granted these students have now become a major bone of contention between Israel’s secular and religious populations, who are locked in an escalating cultural war over the religious character of the Jewish state.

For the first time in a decade, Israel’s High Court of Justice has opened hearings on two legal challenges to the present system of draft exemptions, which have freed 28,300 men from military obligations on the basis of a simple declaration that they are engaged in full-time religious studies.

In addition, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak has introduced proposed legislation that would limit the total number of military exemptions to just 800 religious students. Those not suitable for the military would be assigned national service. “First and foremost, the point of the law is equality _ everybody should bear an equal burden,”said Barak aide Meirav Parsi, sounding a theme that has become a battle cry in Israeli secular society.

While the law has little chance of passing at the present moment, Barak’s initiative marks the first time a major Israeli political figure has dared to risk the wrath of ultra-Orthodox politicians by calling for a change in the present system.”The numbers of exemptions granted every year has grown by leaps and bounds, to the point where it has become a major cause of non-Orthodox resentment,”said Knesset (parliament) member and attorney Amnon Rubenstein, who co-sponsored the Supreme Court appeal.

The practice of granting exemptions to yeshiva students has its origins in the early days of the state, when the late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion agreed to remove some 400 yeshiva students from the draft rolls to aid the rebuilding of Jewish scholarship following the Holocaust.

For years, the ranks of those exempted for study remained small _ never exceeding more than a few hundred students in any given draft year, said Roi Peled, an aide to Knesset member Haim Oron, who also co-sponsored the High Court appeal.

But the growing political power of ultra-Orthodox political parties in the 1980s and the 1990s led to the removal of limits on the number of exemptions. In 1997, nearly 8 percent of the 18-year-olds eligible for the draft declared themselves out of the military because of their yeshiva studies.

The exemptions not only pose a morale problem for secular Israelis who do serve in the army, they also create economic problems for the ultra-Orthodox community itself, said Ramon, who has launched a dialogue with ultra-Orthodox politicians on the draft issue.”Not only is it a burden on the government, it’s a burden on the ultra-Orthodox community, socially and economically,”he said, noting that since the yeshiva students are supposed to be engaged in full-time religious studies they are barred from working.

The students and their families subsist largely on small religious school stipends. The fact that those stipends are funded by tax monies breeds even more secular resentment.

In the early 1990s, a government commission appointed to study the issue determined that more than a fourth of the students registered for yeshiva study appeared to be violating the terms of their arrangement and working on the sly.

But the commission’s recommendations for reform were buried by the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who formed a political alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties supported by about 15 percent of Israel’s population.

The simmering tensions between ultra-Orthodox and secular Israelis exploded again recently, however, just as Israel was celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood.

Ultra-Orthodox moves to censor an anniversary event featuring a modern dance preformance they deemed”immodest,”and a second censorship move against a military trio that included female singers, and was to perform at the inauguration of President Ezer Weizman’s second term in office, generated a backlash of secular anger and political demonstrations.”All of the atmosphere around the jubilee celebrations contributed to a growing atmosphere of hatred and tensions,”said Ramon.”I think basically the present situation cannot continue.” Responding to the tensions, Netanyahu agreed to appoint a public panel to further examine the draft exemption issue. But Netanyahu has since backed down from his commitment after ultra-Orthodox parties threatened to topple his ruling coalition.

Still, in the absence of meaningful government action on the issue, the Supreme Court has signaled a readiness to examine the legality of the present system of draft exemptions.

Among the issues being raised before the court is the question of equity. Secular university students who have joined the appeal say secular conscience observers are never granted blanked exemptions from service.

Regardless of the equity question, the ultra-Orthodox defenders of the present system maintain that yeshiva students are shouldering their share of the defense burden _ on a spiritual plane.”Studying Torah is also an important part of defending the land,”Eli Yishai, an official with the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, was quoted saying.

Others argue that students would opt for jail if attempts were made to force them into the draft.”Does the state of Israel, which aspires to be advanced and liberal and pluralistic, want to force people to violate their religious beliefs?”asked Avraham Ravitz, a member of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Party.

Still, Ravitz is among a handful of ultra-Orthodox politicians who admits some change in the present system is required _ although he argues reform should be gradual and voluntary.

Ravitz, who himself served in the army in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, said he hopes to create a special ultra-Orthodox unit within the military providing religious youth with special meals prepared in accordance with their stricter dietary needs, extra time for prayers and study, and no contact with female army personnel. “There are students who want to dedicate their lives to Torah study and should continue to do so,”said Ravitz.”But there are others who would in fact like to go to the army, but today are not drafted because there is no place for them to go where they can preserve their lifestyle.”I’m not asking the army to send ultra-Orthodox soldiers on less dangerous missions. But I am asking them to meet their religious and cultural needs,”said Ravitz, who hopes that the first such unit will be launched within a year.

Ravitz added that opening up a legitimate ultra-Orthodox channel of military service will permit yeshivas to be more selective in who they accept for study _ and, presumably, curb the number of yeshiva hangers-on, who only show up for studies for a few hours each day and then disappear.

On the other hand, ultra-Orthodox youths who complete army service would be able to go to work, and improve their economic status.”Those who serve in the army could make a great contribution to the ultra-Orthodox society,”said Ravitz.”Some may return to their studies after the army. But others, might go work in fields like high tech, and they will help the ultra-Orthodox economy, as well as easing the taxpayer’s burden.”

DEA END FLETCHER