Ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ refusal to fight is a growing problem for Netanyahu

Two pieces of legislation may be brought before Israeli lawmakers in the coming days. The first aims to alleviate the military personnel shortage caused by the war in Gaza. The second would exacerbate it. Both could have dire implications for Binyamin Netanyahu’s government.

The Israel Defence Forces (idf) is made up of professional officers and ncos, conscripts (mainly 18-year-old Israeli men and women, who serve for at least 32 and 24 months respectively), and regular reservists who have military experience and although no longer in the forces can be called up until the age of 40. The first law, which has been published only in draft, would lengthen male conscripts’ service to three years and extend the call-up age for reservists to 45. Having been caught unprepared by Hamas’s attack on October 7th last year, the idf wants to take no chances and plans to maintain a much larger presence on Israel’s borders for years.