Israel’s Military Service Dispute Could Reshape Its Future

WHO:

BBC - Dahlia Scheindlin is an Israeli political consultant and pollster.

BBC News - The ultra-Orthodox community is resisting being drafted into the Israeli army.

BBC - Right-wing communities in Israel are angry with the government over its protection of a blanket exemption from military service for the ultra-Orthodox.

WHAT:

BBC News - The dispute over ultra-Orthodox military service could affect the future of Israel and potentially bring down the Netanyahu government.

BBC - Scheindlin described the military-service dispute as critical for Netanyahu and as key to understanding the current moment in Israeli society, particularly among the political right.

BBC - Scheindlin said that people in the Jewish community in Israel are serving in the wars and that many are dying.

WHERE:

BBC - The dispute concerns military service in Israel and service in the Israeli army, also referred to as the IDF.

BBC - Scheindlin discussed Israeli society against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

WHY:

BBC - Scheindlin said right-wing communities are furious because the government is protecting a blanket exemption from IDF service while others in Israel’s Jewish community are serving and dying in the wars.

HOW:

BBC News - The ultra-Orthodox community is resisting conscription into the Israeli army.

BBC - Scheindlin said the issue is especially immediate among right-wing communities, though she said the wider Jewish community in Israel is also affected.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 07:09 UTC)

Israel’s dispute over military service for the ultra-Orthodox could shape the country’s future and potentially bring down Netanyahu’s government. The ultra-Orthodox community is resisting conscription into the Israeli army, while the government is protecting a blanket exemption from service. Israeli political consultant and pollster Dahlia Scheindlin says that exemption is provoking anger, particularly in right-wing communities. She says the dispute is critical for Netanyahu and offers a key to understanding this moment in Israeli society. The issue is especially immediate for the political right, but affects the wider Jewish community as well. Against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, Scheindlin points to Jewish Israelis serving in the wars, with many dying. For those communities, she says, the exemption is especially troubling as others are called to serve.