Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men must also be required to serve in the Israeli army, the country's highest court said in a unanimous ruling seen as a bitter setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing religious government.
On Tuesday, the nine Supreme Court judges in Jerusalem ruled that there is no legal basis for exempting the ultra-Orthodox from compulsory military service and approved two petitions that had called for their immediate conscription.
The ruling involves around 63,000 men, which, in light of the Gaza war and a possible escalation with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement on Israel's northern border, could bolster the troops.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently warned of a severe shortage of combat soldiers.
"At the height of a harsh war, the burden of an unequal distribution is greater than ever and requires a solution," the court said in its judgement.
Netanyahu's right-wing conservative ruling party Likud criticized the ruling. In an initial statement, it said that only a "historic law," which is currently being prepared for approval in parliament, could provide a real solution to the dispute over compulsory military service.
The religious exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews has been criticized by many Israelis, a large proportion of whom are secular.
Likud accused the opposition of not actually wanting compulsory military service for the ultra-Orthodox, but merely using it to topple the government. A new law should ensure that more strictly religious men serve in the army.
The opposition, on the other hand, accuses the government of endeavouring to exempt most ultra-Orthodox from military service.
The draft along with the future course of the Gaza war have increasingly tested Netanyahu's government. Observers believe the stability of the coalition is jeopardized by the dispute over the draft since Netanyahu's coalition is reliant on ultra-Orthodox partners who reject conscription of their young men.
There have been exemptions from compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox men in Israel for decades. However, these exemptions expired three months ago and Netanyahu's government failed to pass legislation that would have cemented them in law.
As a result, the highest court ordered the cancellation of state subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men of conscription age who study in religious schools.
At the end of March, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also ruled that the military was obliged to conscript religious students who had previously been largely exempt.
In Israel, men have to do three years of military service and women do two years. Some ultra-Orthodox men serve voluntarily. Strictly religious women are only recruited on a voluntary basis.
