’s Supreme Court heard arguments in a landmark case challenging a controversial system of exemptions from military service granted to the religious community.
The court is looking at the legality of the exemptions, which have divided the country and threatened to collapse Prime MinisterMost Jewish men and women in Israel are required to serve mandatory military service at the age of 18. But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police cleared protesters from roads, and forcefully removed those who briefly blocked the city’s light rail. Demonstrators chanted “to prison and not to the army.” In March, the court ordered an end to government subsidies for many ultra-Orthodox men who do not serve in the army.
, and ending the exemptions could cause them to leave and trigger new elections.