Israel's First Draft of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism... "Operated as a Separate Unit"

Israel, a conscripted nation, has been the first to draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been virtually sidelined for decades.

The Israeli military (IDF) said on the 5th local time that it was the first ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldier to draft 50 people into the regular army.

It added that an additional 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews will be conscripted into the reserve forces.

The conscripted personnel are expected to be a new ultra-Orthodox unit of the Israeli military.Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, called

Haredi', have been exempt from military service since the founding of the country in 1948 for protecting culture and learning that would have been wiped out by the Holocaust.

However, as the war in Gaza dragged on, public opinion grew in Israel that all Jewish citizens should serve in the military, and the Israeli military previously issued arrest warrants for 1,126 of the Haredis who did not comply with the draft in November last year.

"Today's conscription will be the first step in creating an ultra-Orthodox unit," the Israeli military said in a statement, "an important monument to expanding ultra-Orthodox service in the IDF."

The Israeli military expects the creation of a new unit, so-called the "Haredi Unit," to cover some of the shortfall of at least 10,000 troops a year.